Lost Year
by OmgItsPocky
Summary: To have her wish successfully granted, Sakura have a mission to do. Sending herself back in time seems horrific enough, but it couldn't be any worse when she's stuck in the desert, along with a redhead who should have been dead.
1. Traveling!

** Lost Year**

Traveling!

Sometimes the _right person_ for you was there all along.  
>You just didn't see it because the <em>wrong one<em> was blocking the sight

Sakura sighed, staring out of her bedroom window. It was just like any other night. Bright lightings and numerous stalls lined up down the streets, selling all sorts of delicious food and toys. It was actually the night where Ino had suggested to have a ladies' night, but Sakura declined. She was still Ino's friend of course, just that she wanted to be alone.

Laughters, smiles, laughters, smiles. She really need a break from acting it too much everyday.

She stared at a few kids running about with sweets and toys in their hands, while the adults were chatting happily around small tables outside the China shop. She gave a sigh again.

"Sasuke..." Sakura muttered softly.

_"Sakura. Thank you for everything."_

With those words and he just left her at the bench out in the cold and disappeared for about three years. They only managed to find him with some information given by Sasori after she had finally beaten him.

Beaten him? No, she didn't, neither did Chiyo too.

She and Chiyo were sure that Sasori didn't take that blow because he was careless. He was just tired of this battle and wanted to die; perhaps in his parent's embrace.

Before he died, she gave him the mightiest punch when he had cursed his grandmother. But it didn't make much sense when he was still kind enough to help Sakura and gave her the needed information when he could ignore her existence.

She shook her head. Why on earth was she thinking about that redhead again? He was dead, and that's it. The battle _was_ over!

"Look! Shooting stars!"

The shout broke her line of thoughts as she glanced down after hearing the shout and noticed a couple of kids pointing at the sky with their lollipop. She swiftly looked up, and noticed a couple of brights stars and a shooting star flying across the sky, followed by another one.

There were curious gasps and claps as another one came by. Sakura couldn't blame the kids for such excitement, she herself had only seen shooting stars for the first time too. Konoha always had thick clouds hovering above, seeing only stars was already difficult. So basically, seeing shooting stars was the luckiest thing that happened today.

She heard several legends about making a wish when you see a shooting star, and the wish would come true if the stars heard them. She looked down at the streets and a few kids had closed their eyes and seemed to be making a wish too.

It wouldn't hurt if she sort of try it out, right?

She clapped her hands twice as she silently brought them to her chest. And as the last shooting star flew past the sky, Sakura spoke out her wish.

"I wish, things could be different."

0o0

"Then, I hereby assign you the mission of locating and capturing Uchiha Itachi!"

The two teams; Team 8 and 7 swiftly disappeared in a second after Tsunade had ordered the two teams to do their mission.

"Everything will be fine." Tsunade muttered to herself while Jiraiya glanced at her. She whirled around and walked back to the Tower as her heels clacked in the drizzling rain.

Tsunade had received information on where Itachi was and ordered Kakashi and his team to discuss over it. Even though there were uncertain feelings and doubts, they still obeyed. They were planning to find Sasuke's brother to get on more information about Akatsuki, and furthermore, they could use this chance get back Sasuke as well.

Sasori's defeat didn't really manage to help Sakura to get more information to Akatsuki. Although it did helped to get a little closer to Sasuke and helping Team 7 to unite again only for a few minutes, she still managed to see him ever since he left her on that freaking bench three years ago.

Kakuzu's death didn't help much either, neither did Hidan being buried in that hole. They didn't get much information, other than realizing that Akatsuki wore rings and paint their fingernails for some weird reasons.

However, adding Sasori's puppet form, Hidan's immortality and Kakuzu having five hearts, they knew Akatsuki would be filled with one hell of tough and powerful S-ranked criminals.

But even if they knew their life's were at risk, they could not afford to fail this mission, they had to capture Itachi and bring him back to Konoha before Sasuke could manage to reach him.

0o0

It was about 2am and the dark forest was silent, except for the crickets chirping in order to find its mate.

They had been searching for the whole afternoon and they totally deserved a break. The girls slept in a tent while the guys split themselves into two groups and settled in their tents as well.

"It's about time my shift is over," Kiba yawned, trudging towards the tents while stretching with all his might. His loyal companion licked its paw as it followed quietly behind its owner, knowing that if it barked in response, it would wake everyone up.

"It should be Sakura's shift now," Kiba squinted his eyes and stared at the couple of tents that were pitched up in the clearing. He started sniffing for her scent, but there wasn't one. His big fluffy dog sensed its owner's discomfort as it started sniffing for Sakura's scent too.

"Oh Kami." Kiba wrinkled his nose and stared at the tent to his right. "Did Naruto fart? That asshole." He grunted as he waved his hand in front of his nose in order to get rid of the scent.

"That's weird, Sakura's scent is just, completely gone," Inuzuka sniffed once again and wondered aloud, deciding to approach to all the tents and peeked through the small flap to find the pinkette.

"Not here…" He whispered to himself until he finally approached to the last tent. It was just Naruto sprawling out and occupying almost all of the space in the tent, leaving only a small spot for Yamato and Sai to sleep in.

"Ehhh..." He scratched his head, putting down the flap and glanced around the clearing.

"Where is Sakura?"

0o0

"Where is this place?" Sakura yelled, whirling round and round to see nothing but glowing white.

"Genjutsu?" She muttered, slightly horrified about the thought. "This is bad! There must be an enemy!" She swiftly made the appropriate hand sign and tried to release the Genjutsu, but when she opened her eyes, she was still at this white glowing place that she never seen before.

"Who is this?" She shouted, turning in circles again. "Come on out and fight! Is it you, Itachi?" Sakura screamed in frustration. She didn't like the feeling here, she felt scared and lonely…

_'Ah, I'm sorry for the wait.'_

Sakura blinked, certainly shocked to hear a voice.

"Who are you?" She hollered, turning rounds again, "and where are you?"

_'My little girl, you don't have to shout,'_ Sakura could make out that it was a man speaking to her. Judging by the tone and voice, he seemed to be an old man.

"Alright. Then show yourself," she demanded, putting her hands on her hip, she felt a little confident after realizing the voice was from an old man. But then, she got serious again. Even though Chiyo was surely old, she still could fight.

This probably served Sakura as a warning not to underestimate old people.

_'That would be impossible my dear.'_

"What do you mean?" She stuttered, not expecting the answer at all.

_'I live at one of the stars you seen at night. I've heard your wish.'_

"Haruno Sakura… Just wake up. Wake up…" Sakura started pinching herself a little until she gave a yelp when she did it too painful.

_'You are not in a dream.'_

Sakura still ignored the voice._ I can't be trap here while my other teammates are fighting!_

_'Have you forgotten? You wished that everything would be different?'_ He spoke, continuing quickly. _'I'm going to grant your wish.'_

Sakura looked up and stared into the white space. She blinked her bright emerald eyes. "How did you..." Her words ended there before she continued.

"What do you mean by grant?" She scoffed. "What are you even going to do?"

_'Do you remember the first Akatsuki member you fought a year ago?'_

She widened her eyes and took a step back. She could clearly remember the fierce battle that she had fought with him, alongside with his grandmother. It was scary, she had a few nightmares about the fight where she almost lost her life when he stabbed her in the abdomen with the poison sword. But with the comfort of her friends, she easily got over it and_ almost_ forgotten about. Almost.

"Sasori? You mean?" She said in a whisper.

_'Yes, Sasori.'_

"What about him? What does he have to do with my wish being granted?"

_'This boy…'_ There was a few seconds pause before he continued, _'had made a same exact wish as you did 17 years ago before he betrayed his village and left in search for something to forget his loved ones.'_

He hated waiting. He hated his grandmother for lying to him about his parents going onto new missions when the fact was they were dead. He hated that he had waited for years just to see them return, only realized he was being lied by his grandmother all along. He hated the Konoha white fang for killing his parents. He hated the war. Basically, he hated everything in this world.

Sakura remained silent, staring at her feet as she recalled the small moments before Sasori died. The pinkette hated him so much for the way he treated his grandmother, but she couldn't put what was her feeling back then into words.

At that point of time, she didn't know whether she was imagining it or was it what she really seen; before he died and fell onto the ground with his first puppet creation, there was small genuine smile craved on his lips.

"What about him?" She repeated the question when his response wasn't even an answer.

_'You are responsible in helping him that.'_

"What do you mean? He's already dead." She stated.

_'You have underestimated my powers, my little girl. I live in the stars. Nothing is impossible for me.'_

"What are you going to do then?" Sakura crossed her arms and just couldn't hide the mockery tone she had. "Time-Travel?"

_'…'_

"…"

_'…'_

"Are you serious?" Sakura shrieked, her face turned pale and her eyes were just as wide as a dango.

"I don't have to risk my life and time travel! Naruto and I are going to hunt Itachi down, and then we will get back Sasuke!" She bellowed, not understanding why she was shouting. Perhaps it was the fact that she had to meet the redhead again was a little frightening for her.

_'Fine. I will respect your decision, and you can just do it by your way. But let me tell you something before you decide your final decision.'_

Sakura didn't reply, indicating for him to continue.

_'Who were you meeting at the Heaven and Earth Bridge?'_

"Sasori's spy," she muttered, following by another answer that was more specific. "Kabuto."

_'Exactly.'_

Sakura tilted her head, still not understanding what did Kabuto being a spy might affect her decision in the end.

_'Who is Kabuto, what has he done?'_

"He infiltrated the Chunin exam and pretended to be a weakling when he wasn't. He was a talented medic who helped Orochimaru a lot." She spoke, not understanding why she was talking so much.

_'Such as?'_

"Such as healing him?"

_'And?'_

"And what? How would I know?" She muttered through clenched teeth, slightly irritated already.

_'Have you forgotten, my poor girl? Kabuto had assisted Orochimaru in the jutsu; The Living Corpse Reincarnation, which was the jutsu that allows Orochimaru to take over Sasuke. Kabuto had been with Orochimaru for so long, if it weren't for Kabuto's healing techniques, would Orochimaru still be alive?'_

Sakura gasped.

_'And with Orochimaru alive, it was actually the cause of most problem, although it would not directly stop Sasuke from wanting revenge, many people wouldn't have the need to die anymore.'_

She should have… She should have rejected and said no from the start. Now her decisions were wavering and she don't know what to do anymore.

This weird old man living in the stars was so damn right, and she didn't know how to argue her way out anymore.

Sasuke wouldn't have left her side and seek for power, leaving Konoha for three whole years if Orochimaru wasn't alive. Perhaps during the time, she could change him, someone could change him, and made him turned into another person instead of someone who only wants revenge.

For Naruto and Sasuke-kun, she's willing to take such sacrifice, even if she had to see that person who she dreaded.

_'You have all the time needed to stay with Sasori and change him. However, at that point when you had changed his heart and ensured the future to be different, you'll be automatically time-traveled back to this exact date and time. However, the time in the current time will stopped completely once you enter the past, no one will ever notice your disappearance.'_

"Sasuke…" She whispered before looking up confidently and nodded her head.

The old man didn't need to ask her if she wanted to do this mission anymore or not, he knew her answer already.

_'I'll be in your mind anytime, and I'll communicate with you when necessary. I'll make sure you change your future and everything would be different'_

Glows started surrounding Sakura's body as her legs began to disappear, slowly followed by her waist and then her body.

_'And last reminder...'_

Sakura didn't feel pain or anything when half of her body was gone. Sakura just felt amazed that there was such power as time-travel in the world. Still captivated by such unique ability in this world, she didn't really bother hearing the last reminder by her _fairy-god father_.

_'Never fell in love with him.'_

0o0

Everything happened so suddenly. Flashes of black, white shot through her vision, and Sakura felt as if she were dying. Her body seemed to be pushing itself far beyond her natural limits; it was tearing itself apart.

The past events started appearing before her. The image of her returning to Konoha after failing to seal the third-tails, then afterwards, she could see herself and Naruto defeating Kakuzu, who was one of the Akatsuki members, and then she was about to back up Shikamaru but he had successfully defeated Hidan.

Then again, Chiyo's funeral, aferwards, it was the harsh battle with Sasori which she could still clearly remembered what happened.

Other events flashed across her eyes too, like it was replaying her whole, life, just that it was backwards. Her mind hurts, her head hurts, her eyes hurts. She closed her eyes, wishing that all the memories she didn't want to remember to go away. But it was still playing in her head.

The night where she confessed her love to Sasuke.

The battle with the sounds in the forest of death, where she was helplessly trying to protect both of her unconscious teammates, only to be saved when Sasuke finally woke up, unleashing his curse mark.

Then shortly after, it was her profession to Ino about liking Sasuke.

Then, celebrating her 5th birthday with Ino.

Her parents bring her to the newly opened amusement park when she was just two years old.

And then, the last second during the time she was born to the world, March 21.

Her mind was aching, invading all the memories she had forgotten, or was planning to forget. She didn't want to remember. In the end, she gave a loud peircing scream.

Everything turned black.

The pinkhead slowly regained consciousness, due to the fact then her ribs were constantly being poked at. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, thinking all of that weird incident was a dream and her best friend Ino was in her room, demanding her to go out shopping with the blonde.

But… no…

She couldn't see clearly, but she knew she's definitely not on her bed.

Sand?

She blinked, trying her best to accommodate to the blurry surrounding, something immediately caught her eyes when she opened it. It must have been the sand when a wind blew by.

After rubbing her tired emerald eyes, she blinked a few more times, finally able to see the figure standing over her, his legs were jabbing unceremoniously into her ribs again.

"Are you dead?" A cold and uncharitable voice spoke.

Yet, the voice was so similar to her.

She slowly sat up, not bothering to answer the stupid question back. Sakura began rubbing her tired butt that was sore from lying onto nothing but sand. Her arms and legs felt numb too.

"Where am I?" She mumbled like a three years old child just waking up from her nap.

The figure stopped nudging onto her abdomen finally, which she was very grateful for. All that person did, was walking off and not answering her question.

"Wait!"

What on earth happened?

She gradually stood up, dusting her pink shorts and her attire. Was she alone in the middle of this gigantic desert?

However, she remembered someone _alive _had actually poked her ribs rudely.

"Wait!" She cried out again, whirling around and trying to spot the same figure before her a few seconds ago. Finally, her eyes set upon a man that was wearing nothing but normal Sunagkure clothes she seen Gaara and the others wearing when she visited them. The scarf around his neck was covering his face from the harsh wind that was starting to brew in the desert.

"Is he from Sunagakure?" She wondered aloud, sprinting towards him.

"Wait! Mister!" She started choking, having some sand in her mouth as she spoke. She spat them all out, and still trying to catch up with him, but in a matter of time, Sakura managed to run up to him and blocked his path as she continued to pant.

_Has my stamina weakened?_ She thought.

"Excuse me." She finally stood up straight, prepared to face the man that had woken her up. Even though she was slightly angry about the way he woke her up, she was still grateful for it. If he didn't woke her up, she might be dead in the middle of the desert, and this was the last thing she ever wanted.

However, that wasn't important now.

She glanced up, and the first thing that caught her attention was his hair.

Red hair. Crimson red hair. She slowly glanced down from his hair and noticed the familiar wide, emotionless, chocolate-brown eyes that were staring back at her. There was that sharp nose she observed when she battled the puppet master a years ago. And also that mouth that always appeared as a smirk when he gave some sort of sarcastic remarks.

"Sa-" Sakura's mouth opened wide, her tired arms lifted from her side as she pointed at him, rather accusingly at the redhead when he didn't do anything.

The redhead narrowed his eyes, his gazed turned to focus on the shiny headband around Sakura's head and he sneered.

"Konoha." He drawled.

The man, who had killed his parents during the time of war was from Konohagakure, which he exactly remembered when he overheard his grandmother talking to the few counselors at the meeting room.

He rolled his eyes at the weird behavior given by Sakura as he slowly continued his path and he walked around her. He had a lot of things to settle in the next country he was heading to, and he had no time to deal with brats that would be meddling in his business.

"Saso-" Her eyes widened just like the size of a dango. Her gaze still not leaving the redhead who was already ahead of her, she raised her hand even higher and cupped her mouth with both of them, only letting both of her arm down to scream that certain word that was still stuck in her throat.

"Sasori!" She yelled out, her voice echoing in the middle of the desert. No one could ever hear her cries, but she was definitely sure her voice must have traveled at least a kilometer.

The man finally stopped, turning around and stared back at her.

His eyes only widened by a fraction, but it was not obvious for Sakura to see based on the small sandstorm and the distance between them.

"How," he spoke, having a small pause in between.

"How do you know my name?"

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

This happened during the Itachi Pursuit Arc, let's say Sakura's age should be around 16-17. And since this is 2011, it would means she was born in 1994/1995. Sasori's age would be 19. Everyone's fine? Okay!

Goodbye Apathy is ending in one more chapter. ( And I'm uploading it lastest by Thursday or Friday- which is the lastest.) Yes, I'm stuck in that story for the past month. All I can do is to finish editing it and post it up soon. Well, I've prepared this one during my writer's block, so I hope you enjoy this new one here!

Reviews are very appreciated!:D


	2. Scampering!

**Lost Year**

Scampering!

What do you want to be in 5 years?  
>Happy.<p>

"How do you know my name?" He repeated, slightly annoyed that he had to.

_Logic. Logic. Logic! _She bit her lips before an idea struck her mind.

"I've seen you in my country's bingo book before. It was easy to recognize you." Sakura mumbled unconfidently. At least she didn't said _Bounty Hunter._

"Who are you?" He narrowed his chocolate brown eyes, his red eyebrows turning into an ominous frown.

"I-"

How she wish that her _Fairy-God Father_ could appear and explain everything. But it would be rather stupid, wouldn't it?

She stared at the curious redhead ahead. He had that impatient look plastered on his face, and she knew if she didn't answer soon, he would force her to. And it would be something very unpleasant to happen.

"S-Sakura. Konoha. M-Me." She point to herself before pointing at her headband again.

Sasori seemed to relax a bit, thinking that he might be facing a dumb ninja. But then, everyone could by lying and acting. He could never let his guards down in this ninja world.

"Hmph." He glanced at Sakura for the last time before continuing his journey.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled, quickly running up to Sasori as she started walking along with him.

"What are you doing?" Sasori questioned.

"Traveling with you of course. Y-You wouldn't mind, would you?" She asked.

"Yes, I definitely mind-"

Before he could complete his sentence, a voice called out, interrupting both of them. They turned around in unison, only to face a dozen of crouching ninja, already prepared for battle.

"Sasori!" The man in front shouted.

_Sand Shinobi…_ Sakura stared at the headband that were over all of the ninja's foreheads

"Have you betrayed us and gone with the _Konoha_ people, Sasori?" A ninja at the back cried out when they noticed Sakura who was also wearing the Konoha headband in proving her loyalty towards her village.

She definitely didn't like the tone from these people. The way they exaggerated their hatred on the word _Konoha _certainly pissed her off. She was about to shout about the ally treaty they had between Gaara and Tsunade when she realized it would be this stupidest thing to do. She _is_ now in the past, the past where a treaty for ally between Konoha and Suna _doesn't_ exist.

She should start getting used to these things now. Living in the past sure was hard when History weren't exactly your best subject.

"We are ordered to bring you back alive. The councils certainly respect you and-"

"If you hadn't notice hundreds of dead comrades before you managed to reach here, I would like to remind you that your efforts in bringing me back would be fruitless. I have no intentions to go back."

Sakura turned to face the rather furious-looking redhead. His facial features seemed to have darkened and his voice was tainted with annoyance. Anyone would easily know that it was not the time to mess with him.

"Then we have no choice then." The man who seemed to be the leader of the squad spoke in confidence, as if he would be able to bring back Sasori without having a scratch on him. He took a huge scroll from his back and threw it into the air. A poof and a smoke was seen and heard as it revealed more then a dozen of puppets in the air after the smoke had scattered.

Before the puppets managed to drop onto the ground, all of the Sand Shinobi who were standing behind the leader stretched out their hands and attached their chakra's string to the puppets, ready to attack.

Sakura widened her eyes in horror. In that instant, she remembered the one hundred puppets that were floating in the middle of the cave above Sasori's puppet body. That same fear that she experienced came back to her again. She wasn't too sure how Sasori felt right now as they were facing the dozen of puppets, but she knew there might be some difficulty to deal with them.

Wait, why was she scared? It's not like she's witnessing so many puppets for the first time. The number of puppets before her seemed to have become no significant at all when she remembered how she easily crushed about half of Sasori's hundred puppets. All she had to do was to have confidence in herself and the strength to continue. The pinkette went into her usual stance as her fist was surrounded by her blue chakra.

As the few puppeteers before them began their moves, Sakura instantly jumped up and screamed with all her might, replaying her confidence and strength during the fight between her and Sasori before.

"Shanaroooo!" Sakura screamed, punching the puppet with her chakra fist. And in that instant, that well built puppet was shattered into millions of pieces without even managing to touch her.

"What the!" The puppeteer that was controlling the now shattered marionette was in shock as he stood back, watching the bits and parts fallen onto the sand.

Sasori's eyes widened in shock, he turned to stare at the pinkette who jumped back for cover. The redhead had never seen such power and strength from a small girl like her. He had certainly underestimated this girl's power at the start.

He's not going to stand there and let the girl do the entire job. Sasori caught hold of his scroll that slipped out from the end of his sleeve as he raised it up, summoning the puppet out from it.

The puff of smoke quickly subsided, and the puppet appeared right in front of the puppet master.

The smoke definitely caught everyone's attention, including Sakura's. And when it finally cleared, she couldn't help but gasped out at the familiar puppet before her.

"H-Hiruko!" Sakura wondered out loud as she stared at the human puppet that Chiyo once claimed that it was actually once a Sand Shinobi. However, with the amazed tone she had, the redhead puppeteer obviously heard her shocked response.

Sasori raised his eyebrow, glancing briefly at her before turning back to focus on his enemies. He was sure that he didn't mention Hiruko's name at all, so how did that brat knew about it? Was the Bingo Book that detailed?

Swinging his arms as he controlled his puppet, Hiruko opened his mouth wide and unleashed quite a number of poison senbons. When it only managed to hit a few ninjas only, Sasori let Hiruko's arm flung into the air, sending thousands of poison senbons towards the puppeteers who were trying to run away from it.

After a few minutes passed, all the enemies finally collapsed, leaving only the leader left.

Not wanting to give up so easily, the leader charged towards Sasori with just a sword in his hand as all his puppets was broken into pieces by the pink haired kunoichi. Furthermore, all of his comrades were poison or dead, completely unable to obey his orders any more. With that blade he had, he ran towards the two of them, trying to take them out, although he knew he would be just running towards his death.

After all, even if the best puppeteer were left with no puppet by his side, he would just be an ordinary ninja.

A slight tug from Sasori's hand made Hiruko stampeded towards the only Shinobi left, and right at that moment, Hiruko's arm was already grabbing onto the leader's neck.

"For the last time. I'm not going back." Sasori growled, pulling tightly onto his chakra strings afterwards.

And then, with a snap in his neck, the leader was dropped onto the pile of sand. Dead.

Sakura trembled at the harsh tone that left Sasori's mouth before he killed that man before him. She glanced carefully at him as his once bored and emotionless pair of eyes turned into one menacing glare.

She knew all of them were dead and it would be pointless to save the Shinobi before her. However, it took her a lot of strength not to check on them if they were indeed dead. She was specialized in healing and saving people, but this was a different matter. Sakura don't want to risk her life getting killed by letting Sasori thought that she was actually one of them.

They were humans. They had families back at their village and they had the rights to live. They don't deserve to die like that.

Sakura bit her lips as she watched Sasori trudged away from the corpses silently after he kept his puppet back into the scroll. She could already imagine him doing this ten or hundred of times with that cold and stoic expression of his. The worse part that made her shuddered in horror was when she knew what she imagined was indeed true, since he had mentioned that he killed hundreds of Shinobi who were chasing after him beforehand.

'_You have all the time needed to stay with Sasori and change him.'_

All the time? All the time! So she would be stuck in the past forever? Not able to change that cold and cruel hearts of his?

"Why are they pursuing you?" She spoke, biting her dry lips when she heard his footsteps stopped.

"It's none of your business." He snapped, not turning around. It was still a wonder why was he replying to her silly question when he could have just ignored them.

The redhead stared forward, trying to get back his sense of direction again. He had to get to another border soon or he would have to waste his time killing all of these worthless people.

Sakura whirled around and was about to call out for him again when he suddenly jerked in his position. His shivering hand was clutching onto his other arm and he seemed to be in pain or something.

"Tsk" Sasori clicked his tongue, trying to gain back his composure. But when a certain pink-haired ninja came running towards him and patting on his back, it certainly didn't help him.

"Are you-"

"Don't touch me." He gritted through clenched teeth as he stepped back away from her. The redhead slowly released the tight grip on his arm, revealing a large blotch of red stain on his Suna robes.

"Are you alright?" She repeated what she was about to say before, trying to disregard the fact that he just spoke rudely to her when she was just caring for him. Her eyes were filled with concern, only before she realized that the red blotch on his sleeves was actually blood.

"You are a human?" She spoke in astonishment as the pinkette stared at the bloodstain, speechless.

"What?" He frowned and stared at her, totally not expecting that_ dumb_ question.

"Nothing." Sakura easily brushed away the topic when she pointed at that flesh wound. "Let me heal that for you."

At that exact moment, Sasori was shocked. "What do you mean by heal?" He slightly tilted his head, just like an innocent child. She could have _totally_ fallen in love with those attractive hazel eyes that were staring back at her, although she didn't like the frown that was plastered on his face.

"Literally. I'm going to heal your wounds. I've learnt medic skills from Tsunade-sama and-" She immediately stopped when Sasori was giving her a weird look. Medic skills were rare in the past and certainly it wasn't something that was so easy to learn as well, it was understandable when Sasori gave such a look at her. Besides, why was she saying so much to him when he probably couldn't even understand a single thing she said?

"Medic skills?" The redhead narrowed his eyes. "They aren't common in the year like this." He spoke, totally not trusting her.

"I'm the uncommon then." She took the urge not to snap at him and let her heal his wound. But she knew it would be the dumbest thing to do when he could just snapped her neck into two, which was just as easy as him breathing air.

Although he didn't believe her, he slightly turned his arm towards her and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a blood soak tourniquet that was loosely hanging onto his arm. It was the worse bandage she had ever seen in the hospital since many ninja know how to tie bandages onto their wounds before they went to the hospital for treatment.

But whom were we talking about? Sasori couldn't have tie a bandage with two hands when his injury was on his arm. Besides, he was traveling alone; no one was able to help him anyway.

She slowly untied the bandage as the large gash was revealed. More blood started oozing out from the wound.

"How did you get such wound?" Sakura spoke. She quickly heal the wound before it get further infected, however, a light conversation wouldn't hurt that much.

But when the other party didn't want to talk, she didn't have a choice but to keep silent as well. She could only guess that he had got the wound when he was fighting the other ninjas that were told to bring him back.

Only a few second after she thought Sasori wasn't a talkative chap, the silence between them finally broken. "Exactly, who are you?" He finally uttered the first sentence in the past few minutes of silence.

Sakura blinked, staring at him with two of her bright emerald eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked truthfully.

"Aren't you one of those ninja that were hired to take me back to Suna? I'm not fooled so easily just because you healed me or pretend to faint in the middle of the desert."

"What?" Sakura stared at him, horrified. She had to quickly clear up the misunderstanding, or she could end up just like those corpses not a few meters away from them. If she didn't heard incorrectly, those were actually Shinobi that were ordered to take him back to Sunagakure alive. So if she wasn't wrong, Sasori must have done something to infuriate the village and wanted him back so badly.

"I'm not like them. I'm really lost." She spoke the half-truth. "And why would I be fighting them if I want to bring you back? Furthermore, I'm lost. Wouldn't it be stupid for me to capture a guy who have more sense in direction than me?"

He narrowed his nut-brown eyes while she just stared back confidently into Sasori's eyes.

"Have you fought a puppeteer before?" He suddenly changed the subject, turning his gaze away from her eyes as he stared at her hands that were healing his wound.

Her chakra subsided in a second due to the sudden question she received, but in no time, she resumed healing the injury with the normal amount of chakra needed. Sakura was taken aback, definitely at that weird question thrown to her, but even though she wasn't so sure what to reply him but she still did, truthfully.

"Yes, I do. Only once. H-He's one tough guy." She gave a slight pause. "Why the question?" She asked, really wanting to know the answer.

There was a hesitant pause, as if Sasori didn't know whether he should answer her or not, but a weird feeling just made him respond to the silly question which he could have just ignored, again. "The way you defeated the puppets in a second was quite impressive. It made me thought that you must have fought a puppeteer once. So, I've guessed correctly."

Sakura blushed faintly as she received an indirect compliment. Although she knew he was just saying out what he thought and he wasn't exactly flattering her.

But she did wonder what was Sasori exactly thinking when they were battling in the cave with Chiyo too. Was he also thinking that she was impressive?

There was just silence after Sakura finally healed the wound as she reached out for her back pouch and took out a roll of white bandage. Healing others was her responsibility and so she was always ready with the first-aid kit she had in her back pouch.

"Tell me if I have tied it too tightly." She said gently, just like how she spoke to any of her patients in the Konoha hospital. After wrapping his arm for a couple of rounds, she bound a dead knot and tightened it so that it wouldn't slip out so easily. Sasori still didn't complain or spoke about how tight or loose the bandage was, so the pinkette could only think that it was just right for him.

Sasori slowly rolled down his sleeve after Sakura was done. He watched quietly as Sakura put back the remaining roll of bandage back into her back pocket

"Let's make a deal."

"Huh?"

It was like the umpteen times that Sasori had surprised her with those sudden questions and answer. It was hard to exactly know what on earth he was thinking about, and all these random yet logical and understandable questions were slightly making Sakura tensed up more than usual.

"I said, let's me a deal."

"I heard you loud and clear. It's just that, I'm surprised that you were willing to even negotiate anything with me. And what sort of deal are you talking about?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to travel with me? I agree to your request. However, you have to keep up with that kind of strength and your medic skills."

It didn't surprise her in the least. She heard about tons of mission that was only given to medics in Konoha. Examples like infiltrating other countries and served as a spy for Konoha. Several countries lacked the intelligence of having the best medic skills, so they would be willing to do anything to have a well-known medic to serve and help their country.

If she didn't learn medic jutsu from Tsunade, she couldn't help but wonder what excuse would she use to travel with Sasori.

"However, if you ever betray me-"

Sakura blinked and interrupted quickly. "What makes you think I would betray y-"

"If you do, although I don't know how. But if you did something that could end me up in something unpleasant, I won't hesitate to kill you." He glanced at the couple of dead Shinobi on the sand, serving Sakura as a warning.

She gulped uncertainly.

Sakura knew it. Sasori didn't trust her in a bit. He only allowed her to travel with him was because she had the power to heal. But she had made a huge progress by joining with Sasori. All she had to do was to keep watch on him all the time, preventing him to join Akatsuki and change his heart.

What an easy task!

They started traveling after their sort-of conversation ended. It was irritating for Sakura to hear nothing but silence during traveling. In every mission she had throughout her life, she would always encounter either a noisy Naruto, blabbering Ino and others who actually made an effort to talk while traveling.

But this was just too quiet. She was hungry, hot and rather pissed off when she can't even see any nice view in the desert. Nothing but sand, sand, and sand!

"Where would we be going?" She asked, her tone sounded rather vexed. This was the most logical and reasonable thing to ask to avoid her getting ignored or dead.

"No where. As long as it was not a place that involves Suna, anywhere would be fine." He glanced over his shoulder, watching wearily at her. "And where were you intending to go before you were lost?"

Again, another question that was totally well reasoned to ask, yet it totally shocked her once more.

"Same as you. No where in mind. I just want to find somewhere to relax and train on my own." She quickly thought of an answer.

He didn't prey on it any further and their two to three sentence of conversation ended again. She couldn't help but wonder how did his blonde partner put up with such a quiet person?

As Sakura quietly and tiredly walked behind Sasori, he finally halted. Sakura could have knock into him if she took one more step.

Sasori immediately crouched down behind a rock that was a few meters away from them. He gave a tight pull onto Sakura's short, indicating her to squat down as well. The redhead pointed in front to let Sakura see that there were a few watch guards who were either slacking or dozing off on watch post.

"The town after that border is the Earth country. " He spoke before Sakura could even ask where they were. Sasori narrowed his eyes afterwards. "You'll stay here. After I give you a signal. Run in."

"W-What? What a-are you going to do?" She stuttered.

"Just run as fast as possible after I give you a signal." He repeated, rather annoyed, although he was not even answering Sakura's question at all.

In a blink of an eye, Sasori was nowhere to be seen. The pinkette looked around frantically until she had to squint her eyes to notice the redhead who was knocking out all the watchmen at the border a few hundred meters away from her position.

After he made sure none of them was conscious, he positioned the body to make sure no one would immediately noticed the watch guards had fainted. Later, he turned to Sakura and made a huge wave.

Sakura nodded to herself, darting her jade-colored eyes to see if there was anyone nearby before she sprinted forward in the speed of light.

When she finally reached Sasori's side, they dashed past the watch post together and into the small gate of a village.

They continued running and down a dark alley in order to avoid anyone from noticing their weird behavior. Making sure that they were safe, Sakura heaved a sigh of relief.

"Finally." She panted harshly, still not accustomed to the fast running earlier on. "I need a bathe to wash away the amount of sweat I had in that damn desert." Sakura muttered, looking down at her dirtied and brownish attire. Sasori didn't say anything, but just gave Sakura a glance before looking down the street. Sakura followed his gaze as both of their attention were set on a decent looking inn that was just a few meters away from where they were standing.

"First, you better keep that headband." He pointed out.

Sakura blinked and touched the cold metal on her head. Instantly, she remembered the day when Ino helped her to fixed her headband and changed the band to pink just for her.

She swiftly untied her headband as she put it into her kunai holster. There might be enemies that were living in this village and had a grudge towards Konoha. And for now, she didn't need any fighting for the moment. So arguing with him about not wanting to keep her headband didn't seem logical in any sense.

"We may be in Earth village, but where is this town?" She muttered, after closing her kunai holster. Sakura was sure she hadn't come to such a quiet looking village for any mission she ever had.

"The Land of Silk." He said.

_Land of Silk?_ Sakura frowned, trying to recall the world map she studied for her academy exams. She was positive there was no such village that existed.

But then, we were talking about the past. This village could have been either wiped out or abandoned before she even studied about the world map.

The sudden movement made by Sasori broke Sakura's line of thoughts. She turned and watch Sasori as he started taking off his robes and scarf, a huge blush tinted onto Sakura's cheek.

"W-What are you doing?" She cried out, turning her back towards him. She had seen his puppet body when they were battling before, but this was a different matter. He _is _a human, with real flesh and _stuff_.

"It would be rather crazy to be walking around the town with the Suna clothes on, wouldn't it?" He spoke, sounding as if Sakura was stupid or something.

Sakura was about to turn to argue back when she noticed the robes and scarf were already on the floor beside her. Counting to three, she slowly turned around, only seeing Sasori in his long blue pants and a long black sleeve shirt, which was almost the same as what Sakura had seen Shikamaru wore without his flak jacket.

She suddenly remembered that Sasori was already wearing clothes on when he revealed his wound to her. How could she have forgotten?

Sasori walked up to the opening of the alley, passing Sakura as if she was invisible. He then popped his head out to see if anyone had noticed them behaving suspiciously before walking out when he was sure there was none.

"Wait up!" Sakura yelled, only inviting a few residents' attention.

He halted, turning around and looking rather pissed off when he was also getting those unwanted attention.

"What?" He muttered.

"Aren't we going together?" She asked, rather innocently.

"We are, so stop shouting." He huffed, whirling around and approached to the inn that they were looking at previously.

After entering the small inn, Sakura skipped towards the counter happily as she spoke, trying to keep all the excitement within her. "We would like to rent two rooms."

"I'm sorry. We have limited amount of rooms available. The most I could do is to spare you one room with two beds. Would that be fine?" The fragile looking girl said tiredly.

Sakura froze, not liking the idea at all. Sharing a room with that guy? No, this was not acceptable. She glanced slightly at Sasori who was resting his arm on the counter, looking wearily and staring in space.

He didn't seem to care or bother to argue and demanded for two rooms, so the pinkette had no excuse to disagree to it as well. However, sleeping in the same room with a man that would-be-a-part-of-the-Sranked-criminal-organization-soon didn't seem comfortable at all. But she would rather sleep in an inn rather than in the woods with all those creepy insects.

"Alright then." She sighed. "How much would it be if we are staying for a night?"

"That would be 700 yen."

"700 yen?" Sakura hollered. The amount of money cost for a night definitely caught Sasori's attention too as he widened his eyes and stared at the girl before the counter as if she was insane.

The girl looked away as she bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry. The regular prices for the other inns are 750 yen. Ours is the most cheapest already." She sighed.

Sakura was absolutely positive that she didn't have any money on her, not to mention that huge amount of money just for the night. So when both Sasori and Sakura exchange that similar glance, they were now sure that they had to sleep in the woods.

As they walked out of the entrance, Sakura glanced nervously at the redhead who was slightly pissed off about sleeping without having a proper bathe at all. She was pissed too! But she just couldn't get angry anymore after the little girl before the counter kept apologizing to them for so many times already.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked tiredly. The sun was about to set any moment and she was dead hungry and tired. She doesn't have the energy to blame Sasori for not taking money with him when he left his village.

"Pickpocket! Catch that boy!"

Both of them glanced to the other side of the street, watching a little boy who was holding onto a small looking purse running towards their direction. Before Sakura could catch that fast runner, Sasori already grabbed onto the child's arm as he tried to struggle away from Sasori's tough grip.

"Let me go!" The boy yelled.

"Give me back that purse." Sasori's voice turned deep.

"No!"

Sakura stared in bewilderment as she looked at Sasori with a new found respect. Although he was one tough guy who kills anyone that he was displeased with, he was actually doing something right for the first time.

Maybe she had the chance to change him. Maybe deep down his heart, he could be a kind and nice guy…

"Return that purse! You can't steal." Sakura turned her attention away from the redhead and to the boy Sasori was still grabbing onto.

"Finally I caught you." A plump looking woman pulled the boy's ear as she snatched the purse away from his grip. "How dare you steal!"

"I need the money!" The boy cried out. "My sister is going to die from hunger any moment!"

The two foreigners stared at the boy who was crying before them as he squatted down and laid his head low. "Those baddies take all our money away! We have nothing left!" He yelled as more tears rolled down his puffed up cheeks.

"You have suffered, my little boy." An old looking granny spoke as she slowly walked up to the boy, crouching down a little as he handed two buns to him. "But not only you, everyone was suffering too. Stealing is extremely wrong, so you shouldn't do this again." The old woman smiled.

The little boy raised his head as he stared at the two buns in front of him. "Hurry and bring them to your sister. You two must be hungry now." The granny continued, ignoring a couple of villagers' who were whispering about the boy.

In that instant, the boy snatched onto the two buns and ran as fast as he could, down the street. He was long gone in a second.

As the crowd that was observing the scene dispersed, there left was Sakura, Sasori who still don't know where to go, along with the old kind lady.

As the granny turned towards them, She gave a bright radiant smile that seemed to remind Sakura of Chiyo.

"What is actually happening?" Sakura couldn't help but asked.

"We have a new lord assigned to take care of our village several years ago. He started taking our money and giving us high taxes that we couldn't afford to pay. That's why the money was hard to come by and everything that sold here were extremely expensive that no tourist want to come. It was rare to see you two here."

Sasori glanced at the corner of his eyes and noticed how hard Sakura was clutching her fist.

"Some of our people in the village have thought of migrating to another town already. Soon, the Land of Silk would be abandoned and our pride which we held so high would be just thrown away in the pile of dirt, which no one will ever looked at again." With that, the old lady slowly trudged back into her small bakery store that didn't even have any customer patrolling at all.

"Let's go!" She spoke, in the most serious tone she ever had.

"Where?" Sasori remained rooted to the ground, already knowing where Sakura was intending to go.

"Where?" She gave a confused look to him. "What do you think?" Sakura snapped.

"We can't do anything. We are just foreigners." He replied in a deadpanned tone.

"I don't care! I know I should be obeying you and following you since I was the one who requested to travel with you, but this is just ridiculous! Look at the stupid price for a night at that inn. Look at the kids who were stealing because they have to survive! We can't stand here and do nothing!"

"This does not involve us. We don't have to bother about it." Sasori's volume seemed to have risen. "Just let it go. We'll settle in the forest for the night first."

"But this is just too far!" She cried out as she stormed into the forest not far from the village. She knew she was acting like a stubborn brat, but she just couldn't stand the way the villagers were living right now.

0o0

It was almost midnight as Sakura continued tossing and turning in her sleeping position. She hasn't slept ever since she argued with the redhead and it totally impossible due to the fact that she was hungry, dirty and cold.

Even though she had been giving Sasori the silent treatment ever since he argued with her, it was a surprise when he was still keeping watch while letting Sakura get some rest.

The silent treatment didn't went according to plan as Sakura sat up from her sleeping position and turned towards the redhead who had his back facing her.

"Why don't we get an inn in the next town to stay or something?" Sakura groaned as she tried to massage her back after lying on the rough ground for so long.

"We don't have the money." He grunted.

"Try to get it then." She growled impatiently as she started scratching her itchy legs that were filled with mosquito bites.

"That's a good idea." Sasori mumbled, still not turning his back to face her.

Sakura raised her eyebrow as she glanced briefly at the redhead before continuing to scratch her legs. She didn't really care what he meant but with that serious tone he had, she had a feeling that he must have that thought of getting money for quite some time.

Sasori continued to read the map silently after studying a few legends at the bottom of the large map. And in a few seconds, he turned around and pointed at a fine looking house on the map, which was not so far from the forest they were in.

"Let's go." He muttered.

"To get an inn?" Sakura's eyes sparkled.

He remained silent for a moment before jabbing his index finger on the map for the second time. Sakura used the light from the fire to see what Sasori was pointing at before realizing it was a huge tower.

"Where is that?" She asked tiredly, knowing that it was definitely not a place they were going to stay in.

Sasori still had that bored expression as he started folding the map and stuffed it into his pocket.

"It's where the minister of the village lived in."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow as she stared weirdly back at him. "I thought we had an argument about not involving ourselves in this matter a few hours ago." She stated.

"I can change my mind whenever I want." He stood up and walked over to fire as he started brushing some dirt and sand on it.

"Are you serious?" Sakura gasped. "I thought you were against the idea?" She blabbered, continuing in a second. "And after thinking about it, you were right. We couldn't do anything about it." She said bitterly.

"If you don't want to come. Continue sleeping." He muttered, walking off after the fire was finally put out.

The pinkette sprang up and immediately got to his side in a second. The last thing she wanted was to be in the dark forest, alone. Furthermore, she still had that mission to complete and getting separated from him would not be a good idea.

0o0

"Where's the minister!" The pinkette growled.

"T-There. In the room at the far e-end." Sakura immediately released the bulky guard as he soon fainted once he landed on the ground.

It didn't take long for them to infiltrate the huge tower. Most of the men were either sleeping or playing pokers instead of seriously guarding the minister's building. It was easy task for them to take them out without them even knowing they were there.

Sakura's drowsiness was gone in a second once she stepped into the building. She couldn't believe her eyes when all she saw were thousands of gold vases lining up the corridor. Hundreds of golden lightings were shining along the long corridor, making many people think that electricity was free of charge. The tiles and wallpaper were also made out of gold as well, and the paintings that were hung onto the walls were painted nothing but gold. This place could have been just called the Golden Palace!

And to think that she almost object Sasori from stealing money from this ridiculously rich minister when he had done nothing but to steal the poor villagers hard earned money.

"I'm going to kill him!" She gritted her teeth as she stomped towards the golden door at the end of the long corridor. Sasori was just following quietly and slowly walking behind her, crossing his arms as he admired all the different paintings that were hung up on the wall.

Using her chakra fist, she slammed open the golden door and trampled in, watching the terrified looking minister on his bed while two fairly strong men standing before the golden bed.

"K-Kill that bitch!" The lord yelled. The two men then charged towards the little girl as Sakura just stood there calmly, preparing her chakra fist.

"You damn old bastard!" Sakura screamed, punching and sending the two guards out of the window at the same time. There was no one left to protect the minister's life as the kunoichi cracked her knuckles and approached steadily towards him.

"You old-looking piece of shit!" She roared, glaring threateningly at the weak-looking man. "Who gives you the shit to even run this village you damn asshole!" She lifted her hand and punched right through the golden desk that was beside her, splitting it into two in a matter of seconds.

Sasori was just standing calmly at the entrance of the room as his finger trailed down the golden door. "This is one fine-looking door." He muttered in the cold night, continuing. "How much money have you taken from the villagers to made one of these?"

"I promise I won't take their money again!" He jumped out of his bed as he crawled towards Sakura's feet and begged. "I won't tax them again! I swear to Kami!"

"Who on Earth will believe you?" Sakura snarled, raising her feet high into the air and above his head. "I want you to disappear from this town and live in the dump. Only then, I might think twice about killing you." She barked.

"Alright, I'll go! I'll live in the swamp forever!" He cried out as he quickly wore a plain shirt over his bare body and grabbed onto his pants, trying to cover his boxers. "I'll never come back, so don't kill me. Alright?" He cried out, immediately running down the secret stairway that leads to the entrance of his tower before Sakura changed her mind.

"If I ever see your face again. I'll rip them apart!" She hollered in the dark night after the old man was seen running into the deep forest through the large golden entrance.

"Now, let's get some money." Sasori drawled, turning away and trudged down the lengthy corridor.

Sakura narrowed her eyes after making sure the man didn't come back as she quickly exited the room and followed Sasori, wandering around the palace for quite some time until they finally found a huge looking room where the minister had secretly kept the money.

"This is too much!" Sakura cried out, glaring at the enormous room that was stacked with nothing but piles of money, which almost reached the ceiling. "How could he be enjoying such luxury while the rest of the people out there are suffering?" She growled, suddenly regretted that he didn't manage to kill that old man.

Sasori narrowed his eyes as he mentally counted the amount of money he was staring at right now. It didn't take him long enough to make up a plan.

"Do you remember ever seeing some stack of empty envelopes in the study room?"

0o0

The little boy that was involved in last early evening pickpocket incident gave a loud yawn as he sat up from the cold wooden floor. He watched his weak looking sister sleeping soundly at the corner of the small storage room, which a kind old farmer let them stayed in.

As the preteen walked out of the door, ready to help out the farmer to return his gratitude, he noticed that there was a large and thick looking envelope just by the door. Out of curiosity, he picked it up and tore open the cover, only revealing a couple of huge stack of money inside, which can probably last the two siblings a very long time if they spend on it wisely.

"Money!" The boy began jumping excitedly on the creaking wooden floor. He quickly scampered out of the storage room without waking his sister up and informed about their sudden wealth.

After a few minutes of running, he finally reached to the middle of the town and noticed that the entire resident was standing around in the middle of the street, having a puzzled looking expression and also holding onto the same bulky envelope that he had too.

"Old granny! Old granny!" The boy shouted as he spotted the old lady who had generously gave him the two buns yesterday when his sister almost died from starvation. The old granny glanced at the boy who was dashing towards her and immediately recognized him as the little boy from yesterday.

"Someone left money at the door!" He said cheerfully as he raised the thick envelope to show the old granny. "We won't have to worry about hunger for a very very long time!" A bright smile soon lit up his face.

The elderly smiled and patted on his head as she watched the rest of the villagers chattering non-stop about who was the kind person who had left such a huge amount of money to them too.

As she turned her attention to the bulky envelope in her hand too, she couldn't help but wonder about the two foreigners that had coincidentally drop by their villager just yesterday evening.


	3. Adopting!

**Lost Year**

Adopting!

Spend your life with people who make you happy.  
>Not with the ones who you want to impress.<p>

"Stop kicking!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Then stop pulling the blankets away." Sasori tugged onto the cover as he pulled it to his side again.

After their tiring session of tug of war, they would quickly get themselves ready and have breakfast in the small restaurant supplied by the inn. With the food they sell and provided, Sakura had to admit; the life in the past wasn't as bad as she thought.

It had been a couple of weeks since their little incident in the Land of Silk. In their little room that they rent, they were forced to share the same bed for the second time, since they were often highly mistaken for a couple. They intended to change room, but it would cause them another hundred yen to get two separate rooms or having two different beds to themselves. Money was tight and they shouldn't be spending on _unnecessary_ things like this.

Being seen together as a couple wasn't the thing that Sakura found it weird, but it was when Sasori didn't seem to care when all this commotion going on between them.

But no matter what kind of awkward or stupid situation they ended up in, he would always kept that calm and stoic expression everywhere they go, which somehow reminded her of Sasuke when they were still Genin back then.

Whenever her thoughts lead back to the Uchiha, she would always recalled the scene where Sasuke disposed her on the bench. And right before he bade her goodbye and even thanking her for some weird reason, he called her annoying.

Yes. Annoying. He had called her that twice with that irritated look he held when he jeered her like that.

Those words were the one that kept her moving and becoming stronger. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone, that's why she decided to train very hard under Tsunade's teaching and become one of the best medics in Konoha. After three years, her efforts were paid off, but the amount of praises she received still couldn't mend the words Sasuke called her at all, unless when Sasuke would take his words back willingly and perhaps compliment her or claimed her to be the same level as him.

_What are you thinking? _Sakura tried not to slap herself for thinking about all these useless thoughts as she continued her fast pace back to the inn they had rest in just yesterday, twisting her fingers and prayed that her kunai holster wasn't thrown or taken away.

After all these trainings and habits she learnt when she was under Tsunade's care, it was something unusual for Sakura to forget something so important like her kunai ponch. She always has the habit of putting it back onto her thigh right after she got herself ready for the day. Ninja have to be ready for any attack coming their way, so it was not a surprise for anyone to do the same thing as Sakura did.

It was exactly just like her daily routine. So when Sakura realized she had forgotten something that she had done for three consecutive years, she felt that something was amiss for her being so careless today.

All she got to do was to pray that the housekeeper had not threw her belonging away, or she'll have trouble finding or buying one from villages that didn't have any affiliates with the ninja's countries.

She reached the motel sooner that she thought as she walked over to the counter and questioned the woman who was in-charge of the inn, feeling extremely relieved when she realized they had not clear up the room yet.

Sakura easily spotted her room, which was at the far end of the second floor. As she used the keys she got for the room temporarily, she sauntered into the chamber and immediately noticed the holster that was nicely left like how it was before she went to bed yesterday. She slowly approached it, listening to her soft footsteps on the wooden floor.

Her fingers slowly grasped around the pouch as she turned to stare at the plain room she was in. Even after several weeks had passed, Sakura still couldn't believe she had share the same room and the same bed with a guy that almost killed her in the future.

Everything that's happening now was absolutely crazy for her to imagine. She was always hoping that it was a dream every time she woke up from her sleep, only to find either Sasori sleeping soundly like a child or hitting the shower already. And when she was waiting for her turn to get ready for the day, that old man who claimed to live in the star would remind her that it wasn't any dream or Genjutsu, and then he would continue reprimanding her and suggested that she should focus more on her mission than telling herself that everything that was happening now was a dream when she wasn't in one at all.

Every time when she was muttering some curses to scold back at the old man in her inner mind, she would receive weird glances by the redhead, thinking that she was either crazy or going through depression.

This mission wasn't going anywhere at that moment. They travelled around, yes, it was interesting to see all the things that Sakura never knew existed before, but it was ironic to view all these amazing scenery with a man she didn't interact much before. It would have been a fun adventure if she were travelling with Naruto or perhaps Sasuke, if that would happen at all.

But she had to say, it was still comforting for her to talk with him occasionally. Sasori _is _just a normal ninja that left his hometown in search for something that could help him to forget his loved ones. He's still not part of the naughty organization who kills for their own goals, so all she had to do was to think it that way, then maybe she'll be able to see him as a normal Shinobi in every sense.

However, even if she carry on believing that way, Sakura was always tempted to wonder when would it be when Sasori decided to join Akatsuki, or perhaps turning himself into a puppet.

Would it be tomorrow or next week?

She still hadn't told him the truth why she was even in the desert and ended up following him in the end. But it was a relief that he did not prey on the issue after they left the desert anymore, even though she knew he was certainly interested in her excuse.

As Sakura returned the keys to the housekeeper and briskly walked through the crowded street to find Sasori, she passed by the pharmacy store she had seen just yesterday. When she was patrolling around the town while Sasori was resting, there was a man standing outside the store, advertising the soldier pills that just came in stock that day.

She had made her own soldiers' pill when Naruto was training to improve his technique; Rasengan. But like what Sai had written in the note when he had disappeared quietly while Sakura was telling about all sorts of nutrients found in the pill, it indeed tasted horrible.

Perhaps she could do more research and experiments after trying it out, and it wouldn't harm to buy some of them to replenish her energy when they were travelling too.

She tramped into the store as she smelt all sorts of old and rare medicines she rarely seen in Konoha before. After inspecting some of the herbs out of curiosity, she finally approached to the counter to get what she wanted.

"May I get a dozen of soldiers' pills?" Sakura asked. The seller behind the counter nodded, turning around to search the stock he had in the large cabinet behind him.

"Here's a dozen. That will be 25 yen."

They quickly exchanged their goods as Sakura departed out of the pharmacy swiftly. She knew Sasori hated waiting since he had strained on that matter a lot of times, but she wasn't trying to please him by going back so fast like what he had told her so, but it was because she wanted to travel to the next town as quickly as possible since she had heard rumors that there was a famous waterfall located in that village and she really wanted to see it.

Sasori always threatened that he would kill her if she did something irritating to him, but after a few weeks of travelling with him, she was quite certain that Sasori wasn't the same person who she encountered 17 years later.

Although pissing him off by her rambling was sometimes amusing for her, she was still careful with her words and tried not to mention about subjects that might infuriates him, such as things that was related to Sunagakure or his past.

Sakura often wonders if he liked her company when they were travelling. Sure, Sasori actually talked much more ever since they got out of the desert, but he still ignored her whenever she said rather irrelevant stuffs like how the smell of his hair reminded her of strawberries or when mentioning that the man in the Dango store should get a haircut. Although that part when she mentioned about his hair smelling like strawberries, he did actually glared back at her.

"Please Doctor! Shana's Mummy is going to die!"

The voice of an obvious child tone interrupted her thoughts when she turned to stare at a wailing girl who was tugging tightly onto a man who seemed to be a physician based on how he was dressed up.

"I'm sorry. I've come over the last time and tried my best. It's already very lucky that she could still last that long." The doctor firmly gripped onto the little girl's hand and pulled her away from his cloak. "Go find the others."

"You're the last doctor who I can find! You got to save Shana's Mummy!"

"I said it's too late already!" The doctor shrugged the youngster away as she fell onto the ground with a thud. The physician brushed his coat away as he walked back into his pharmacy which was just opposite where Sakura had came out. The girl crawled back up and followed him to the door.

"Please! I don't want her to die!" The girl yelled, but the doctor just slammed the door shut in the child's face, allowing her to fall again due to the harsh impact.

Soon, the villagers started crowded around her and began muttering and pointing at the child. Everyone said they pitied her, everyone said they wanted to help. But no one did. All they did was speak and no action, and only after a few seconds then they continued their own shopping spree, completely ignoring the girl that was sobbing loudly on the ground.

Sakura glared at most of the passer-bys that cruelly just ignored the kid as the pinkette quietly approached to the girl, stuffing the packet of soldier pills into her back pocket. No matter how much her inner self was telling her to go and stop making Sasori wait, she was still determined to help the girl no matter what.

"What's wrong?" Sakura frowned, placing her hand on the child's small shoulder.

Her hiccup soon ceased as she turned to stare at Sakura's pink hair before looking right through her emerald eyes.

"Mummy is going to die." She spoke, barely loud enough for Sakura to hear clearly, but she was still able to make out the words in the end.

Dying wasn't her most favorite word in her dictionary. Her job was to save and heal people. She wouldn't allow someone who was in need of help to be left alone untreated when there might be a chance that could have save the person's life. Other than those ninja that were trying to take Sasori back to the village; that was a different story.

"Bring me to her. Maybe I can help." Sakura grabbed onto the youngster's hand as she stared at her with her bright azure eyes. She nodded eagerly and grasped back even harder, pulling the pinkette into the crowd of people.

After a few turns, they finally reached a small cottage that was not far from a small looking hill. The girl pushed open the door to let Sakura rushed in as the medic started to inspect the frail-looking female lying on the bed with nothing but a small thin blanket over her thin body.

The pinkette sat down swiftly on the side of the bed and placed one of her ears near to her chest, listening to the heartbeat. Only after a few seconds then Sakura could hear a single and weak beat coming from the scrawny lady.

"What happened?" Sakura looked over at the almost unconscious woman then to the innocent looking girl, hoping to get more information in order to know what should she be treating.

"There's a huge hump on Mummy's stomach, and it is all red and icky. Shana don't like it on Mummy's stomach." She pointed at the abdomen area, which showed a weird looking bulge under the sheet.

As Sakura took away the cover, there was an enormous swell exposed on the stomach area. Every time the lady breathes, the growth would expand before contracting back to the same size.

The mother of the child seemed to sense a presence in her house as she tried her very best to open her heavy eyelid, revealing her bright sapphire eyes. As soon as her eyes set upon the rosette, her expression changed from pain to desperation as she looked down in search for Sakura's hand that was by the side of the bed.

"Please." The lady attempted to take Sakura's hand but her weak grip slipped and her hand fell back onto the bed lightly. "B-Bring this c-child-" The woman coughed out loud as her face turned even paler and her voice was turning hoarse.

"Madam, do not speak anymore. Let me heal you." Sakura bit her lips as she hovered her hand over her abdomen that has the large tumor. Judging by her experiences in the hospital, the lady before her definitely couldn't make it in another hour. She had met a few similar cases like this, but this was even worse. The inflammation of the growth had became so big like it could burst out any second, and it was indeed really lucky that she could still hang on even though the harmful cells in the body had killed all her healthy cells and forced several of her organs to shut down and stopped working.

Although Sakura already knew she was just wasting her chakra to save her life, she still continued her attempt to heal her and probably save her from the brink of death.

Perhaps she was just trying to give the little child some hope that her mother might still survive after all the rejections she had got while asking for help.

"Mummy! Don't leave me alone!" The child grabbed onto the stiffed hand that was starting to turn cold.

"Shana…" The woman coughed once again before turning weakly to Sakura.

"Girl, stop wasting your energy. It's p-pointless already." The child's mother groaned. "All the doctors tried to h-help, but the attempts were in vain."

"It'll work. Just bear with me." Sakura lied. If only Tsunade was here, she would definitely think of a way to save the dying lady using whatever method she have in her long list of techniques she acquired throughout the years of training and researching. Tsunade could save her, she would certainly be able to save her…

But what's the point of thinking all of these when it was impossible to happen?

"Just b-bring her"

"Mummy!"

" –to the Land of O-Orchid where m-my sister lives. I beg you." The woman desperately clutched onto Sakura's hand, which had already stopped her chakra flow to heal the swelling. The lady's once beautiful and radiant aqua eyes were starting to turn dull and hazy.

"Please…"

The woman tightened the grip around Sakura's hand as she managed to whisper out a few sentence before affording a pleading smile to Sakura who was still too confused to decide. However when Sakura turned to stare at the innocent looking eyes from the child that had probably inherited from her mother, she couldn't help but agreed.

"I promise." Sakura nodded frantically, accepting the request by holding tightly back onto the hand.

"T-Thank y-" Before the woman could even show her gratitude for Sakura, the grasp from Sakura's hand slipped and fell onto the soft bed with a small thud. The lady's eyelid slowly closed as her head slightly tilted to the other side, her hair messing up her entire delicate face.

"Madam!" Sakura cried out, shaking her for a moment. She already knew that the woman before her was already dead since she couldn't sense her life presence and chakra running through her at all. The pinkette slowly glanced at the child who was already sobbing uncontrollably already.

"Mummy!" Shana yelped helplessly, shaking her mother with two of her fragile and small hands.

0o0

After a quarter of an hour passed, Sakura placed a flat yet long wooden board that Shana had wrote her mother's name on atop of the burial site.

Sakura turned to stare at the child who was silently weeping as both of them stood before the lonely grave that Sakura had dug right beside the hill and near the cottage. She had gone to Asuma's and the Third Hokage's funeral before and she knew both were equally depressing, but perhaps not as saddening and pitiful like this one.

"Mummy is gone forever. She wouldn't be telling me bedtime stories or cooking my favorite porridge anymore." Shana sniffed as more tears rolled down her puffy and swollen cheek. Sakura wasn't any great in comforting people like Shikamaru or Konohamaru when their closed one had passed on. But she just couldn't bear herself seeing the poor little girl crying when her mother had died in such terrible and miserable pain.

"Shana's mother is not gone forever. She just went to somewhere, to a more peaceful place where she will live cheerily with no pain and misery. And she will watch you from above; wishing you happiness and watching you grow up every single day. " Sakura spoke, trying her best to give the most cheerful smile she had.

There was a small pause before the little kid spoke innocently. "Is it the same place where Daddy had gone to?"

The pinkette stared down at the girl who was gazing at Sakura rather hopefully, wanting to know the answer. The question that was thrown at her almost stopped Sakura's heart for a second as she scrutinized the innocent looking girl who was still waiting for her response.

The medic slowly nodded her head. "Yes. They would be living together happily ever after." With that reply as her answer, the little girl immediately broke into a big grin and turned to stare at the small grave in front of her.

"Then Shana don't have to cry. Mummy wouldn't want that. If Mummy is living peacefully with Daddy, Shana don't have to cry."

There was a long silence afterwards while Sakura continued to peruse Shana who was standing silently as she said her prayers softly for her mother. Knowing when she finally said enough, Sakura faced the girl. "Let me take you to your aunt." Sakura spoke as she slowly clutched onto her hand, leading her away from the small grave. It brought her pain to her heart when she had to separate the child from her mother when she should be spending her entire time there, but the sun was about to set anytime and it would get dark soon. She didn't want Sasori to worry about her or anything like that.

After a small stroll back into the forest, she could sense an immense amount of fury-aura coming from the redhead when he was sitting alone in the middle of the clearing, grunting some incoherent words and breaking a branch into half.

"It took you the entire day just to get back something?" Sasori scoffed, his back still facing her since he had already sensed her presence coming from afar. The redhead only spun his head around when he also noted an unfamiliar chakra signal standing beside the pinkette. When he had turned to inspect the person, Sakura could see the confusing and rather shocked look when his eyes set upon Shana.

"Who is she?" Sasori furrowed his eyebrows as he pointed at the little girl who was holding onto Sakura's hand.

"Shana." She replied, looking down and observed the child who was slightly hiding behind her. "He's a good guy." Sakura spoke soothingly, wishing that she could believe her own words too. "He would not harm you."

"Why is she here?" He ignored the introduction for the girl, inwardly deciding that he should call the child brat too.

"Her mother died while fighting her sickness." Sakura paused for a second as she sat down and crossed her legs, turning to face the redhead who was poking the ground with a branch. "I'm bringing her along with us in order to fulfill her mother's dying wish by bringing Shana to her aunt." Sakura mumbled, her hand still clasping onto Shana's.

"No." The pinkette immediately cringed at the cold and harsh tone that was directed to her. The grip on Sakura's hand tightened as the little girl pouted and slightly glare at the redhead who was being rude to the only person she could trust in the world now.

"Shana, would you help me collect some dry leaves for the fire? There are plenty over there." Sakura pointed at the other side of the clearing as the youngster nodded obediently and proceeded to what Sakura had asked her to do.

"You said that you have nowhere to go, didn't you?" Sakura commented once she noted that Shana was nowhere in sight. "You just want to travel, as long it's a place that doesn't relate to Sunagakure. And obviously the Land of Orchid isn't related to Sunagakure."

"Oh, right. We are meddling with some unknown girl we barely know about and bringing her to a place we never even hear about. You are just too trustful. If you continue to have that attitude in the Shinobi world, you'll die."

"Maybe you should stop caring about yourself and start sparing a thought for others. Her mother just died and her father was dead too. Can't we do a small favor in bringing her back to where her aunt is so she could properly take care of her?"

"She is not the only one in the world whose parents were dead or something."

Sakura blinked. She could have almost caught the sight of Sasori's eyes softening when the words escaped from his lips. But his nut-brown eyes hardened once again as he turned to glare at her.

"One have to fight for your own and stop relying on others in order to become stronger. Let her be in the woods and find her aunt on her own."

"She's just a child! What can you expect from her? What if she ate a poison berry? Or got surrounded by carnivores? Or maybe got lost in the dark forest?"

Sasori returned a churlish look, as if he didn't even care if the things Sakura mentioned really happened to the child.

It took them quite some time to realize the silence between them was far too long for Shana to get some leaves and twigs for the fire by now. A little worried, Sakura sprang up from her seat and tromped to the direction where Shana was last seen, ignoring Sasori who actually bothered to give a glance at her and wondered what was Sakura up to before looking back at the ground again.

After a few seconds of silence in the clearing, Sakura ran back out from the dense forest and startled Sasori for the first time when she appeared before him so fast that he probably couldn't have reacted if she was actually holding a kunai and intending to stab him.

"She's gone!" Sakura panted, pointing to the forest direction.

"That's some news." He drawled.

"She must have overheard our conversation." Sakura continued quickly after trying to regain her composure. Her expression hardened as she glared at him incredulously by the little emotion Sasori had shown when she had suggested the reason why Shana was gone.

"May I know why are you looking at me like that?" He glared back.

"Whose fault is this?" The pinkette yelled as she both of her hands on her hips, looking down at the redhead who had turned away.

"I wonder whose fault is this too." He narrowed his eyes as he poked the soft ground with the branch he was still holding. "If you didn't even bring her with us, we wouldn't even be arguing like this." He muttered bitterly.

"Fine." Sakura huffed, spinning around as she went back to the direction where she had last sprinted before. She was actually expecting Sasori to react and helped her out to find Shana, but she was wrong, extremely wrong.

All the good thoughts about the redhead when she was pondering before in the town vanished and she knew that she still hated him for his cold and unfeeling attitude towards everything in the world.

"Where do you think you are going?" He spat.

"I'm going to find her by myself. You can stay here if you want." Sakura spoke, having the exact tone that she mimicked when Sasori told her to continue sleeping when he wanted to rob the minister's house previously.

Sasori remained seated, not even showing any movement that he wanted to go with her at all. Sakura growled inwardly, thinking that her plan to get him going failed terribly. But she couldn't waste anymore time, Shana could be in danger if she were to wander for too long in the woods. With a loud grunt, she dashed off.

0o0

It didn't take Sakura long enough to find Shana when the girl was screaming for help in a few seconds when the pinkette had raced into the woods.

"Shana!"

After Sakura had alerted the enemies about her presence, they were shocked, or rather substandard as they allowed the captive to escape from their grip.

"Sakura-san!" Shana cried out as she jumped into the pinkette's arms, looking mortified to see the huge and bulky man before them.

"Give her back to us." One of the men barked.

"And why should I?" Sakura bawled, her tone equally tough like the man who just shouted at her.

"This is none of your business girl. Give her back and we'll leave you alone." Another growled.

Sakura was about to reach for the kunai in her pocket when the man who seemed to be the leader signaled them to attack. It was basically impossible if Sakura had to charge back and protect Shana from them as well. But the main priority was to save Shana from all this mess that she didn't deserve.

"Daddy…" Shana whimpered softly.

Sakura stared shockingly at Shana after she watched the men coming towards them. There was no time to waste any longer as she seized the kunai from her pouch and hugged tightly onto Shana, preparing to attack as well.

But what she missed out was that all the men were actually aiming her at all direction. It was unthinkable for her to escape and attack at the same time. She squeezed tightly onto Shana and gasped, already prepared for the worst.

"Don't worry Shana." Sakura's voice echoed in the girl's ear as it immediately triggered a small part of the youngster's memory in the past.

"_Don't worry Shana." A tall man which had the same hair colored hair as the child behind him spoke as he grabbed onto a kunai with one hand while the other was tightening around the toddler's wrist._

"_I will protect you."_

"Daddy! Save us!"

Sakura widened her eyes as the loud piercing scream escaped from that small looking child. The enemy wasn't easily intimidated by that scream as he continued his action, prepared to kill the two girls by stabbing his sword straight into both of them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The familiar harsh tone snapped Sakura from her sudden thoughts about death.

There was a loud crack before they could react, the blade was immediately released from the man's grip as he screeched in agony when his wrist was broken. The ninja stepped away from the redhead before fainting due to the amount of pain he felt so suddenly in that short amount of time.

"Daddy!" Shana cried out to Sasori before her whimpers died down and fainted on the spot.

"Are you an idiot?" He growled, turning to face the shocked pinkette as she watched Sasori standing before her.

The man who was rumored to be a cold and heartless killer had just protected her- them. This man, Akasuna no Sasori, just-

"Why are you here?" She questioned in disbelief.

"That isn't a smart thing to ask in this situation." Sasori raised an amused eyebrow, as if he was mocking her. "It seems that I have overestimated your intelligence. Hugging that child like a doll, as though you can protect her just like that. Is your body made of steel? You can die if you got stabbed."

"That isn't a smart thing to nag in this situation either." Sakura rolled her eyes as she turned to the fainted girl in her arms. As Sakura slowly laid the child down against a nearby tree, she stomped forward and far from Shana before punching into the ground, sending everyone flying when they failed to run away in time.

Sasori was already used to the amount of strength Sakura held within her small fist whenever she felt pissed off at something during their travel. But the way Sakura just snapped back at him totally took Sasori by surprise. Up till now, he still hadn't encountered someone like her to snap at him like that. This matter didn't enrage him, but rather, he was amused that such a brat like her wasn't afraid to talk back at him like that; even in such chaotic situation.

"What an interesting girl." He said inwardly as he smirked, summoning his puppet out like usual. It didn't take both of them much time to take them down easily with the amount of training they had instead of these men who were only aware about the muscles and abs.

"We are taking that child!" The leader growled for the seventh time even after most of his teammates were taken down already.

"You are seriously testing my patience." Sasori snarled, waving his puppet strings in the air. Hiruko then swung his poison tail and struck the opponent, throwing them back on the ground and some slamming atop on others that were already dead.

"I actually thought of letting you live for another three days until the poison take over. But now, I don't intend to."

Loud screams of pain echoed in the forest as the hunters fell onto the ground, knees dislocated or neck snapped apart. Now the redhead was very sure no one was alive in the pile of corpse before him. Sasori turned to see the pinkette who had ignored the torture Sasori did to the once alive ninja as she continued observing the youngster against the tree.

The silence continued as he approached to her, watching the two of them and crossed his arm, eyeing at the girl before looking at Sakura. He wasn't a fool. A mere weak child like Shana could do nothing to enrage the group of Shinobi to attack her and attempting to take her away. She or her parents must have done something to result in this mess.

"I'll speak the truth." Sakura sighed, looking back at Sasori who was still eyeing on her.

"That group of ninja was hired by some country to take on revenge on her father, intending to make him suffer by taking his loved ones away. But it seemed that that country didn't know that her father had already died in one of the battles. Her father was one of the high-ranking officers that was responsible of the thousand of soldiers in a small war, however his mission failed and had made the country suffered a heavy toll. Her mother wanted to bring their child to her aunt's village and lived there because no one would expect them staying there. But she suddenly became sick and was down with terminal disease, that's why she couldn't bring her to safety."

With the last breath Shana's mother had, she told everything about her husband's incident before she pleaded Sakura to accept her request and died in peace. But if Sasori didn't agree, it would be usele-

"Alright But we'll do this is quick as possible." Sasori sighed, looking at the corpses of ninja and back at the child. That only response Sasori gave startled Sakura as she turned to observe the puppeteer who was staring at the unconscious girl.

Children were always innocent in revenge and war. But adults always had to pull them into the conflict and threatened them as though they had no better shit to do. Sakura nodded swiftly, a small smile etched on her face.

As she turned to place Shana softly on her back, Sasori silently offered Sakura his hand as she pulled herself up with the weight of the child on her back. They quietly trudged back to their previous spot since they couldn't have camp next to the corpses and the middle of the woods with thick roots prodding out from the ground. They quickly settled Shana down and decided their own personal roles for the night before Shana managed to wake up.

A while after Sakura decided to restock supplies for an extra person during travelling, Sasori had put up a Genjutsu in the clearing to prevent any enemies from noticing them. He was in charge of taking care of the unconscious child as he continued to stare at the warm fire before him.

"_Mum and Dad are still out for mission. But don't worry, they'll be back in several weeks."_

_And weeks._

_And weeks._

Sasori narrowed his eyes as the image of his parents waving goodbye at him for the last time flashed across his mind. He waited, waited and waited, and all he received were just lies, lies and lies.

The redhead threw the stick forcefully into the small fire, almost extinguishing it as his action created a gush of wind to blow the fire out.

Sasori wanted to be stronger, mentally and physically stronger and he had sworn to himself that he would find power and become powerful and to forget the distress he had.

Yet when he was trying to search for something in his life to cure the miserable pain he had for the years of waiting, a pink-haired kunoichi seemed to be in his way and giving him more trouble like adopting a kid from nowhere and sending them into more nuisance and problems.

"I'm s-sorry."

He widened his eyes by a mere fraction as the puppeteer turned swiftly and stared at the girl who was sitting opposite of him, looking steadily at the fire. Sasori didn't manage to sense any movement made by her when she was already conscious, yet she could easily just sit before him without him even realizing it until she called out to him.

But he was excused for not being to sense her motions since he was in deep thought about that pink-haired brat which always confused him in everything she did.

"It's fine. Just don't do stupid things again." He muttered when the girl was staring at him for not giving a reply back. In that instant, the not-even-a-conversation ended there and everything fell back into silence.

Other than the pinkette that baffled him as much as stupid emotions do, there was still something that kept him puzzled for a while. He glanced at the little girl who was rather captivated by the glinting fire in front of her.

Since she's just a child, she wouldn't find him weird or ridiculous for him to ask her that question, right? Furthermore, every child has a low memory capacity; she'll forget what he was going to ask her anyway.

"Back then when I came to prote-" He gave a pause, deciding not to use such heroic word to describe that situation. "- Prevent you two from getting killed, what did you call me again?"

The child looked away sheepishly before staring back at the redhead who was drumming his fingers rather impatiently on his lap.

"Daddy." She pouted.

"So what makes you think I look like your father?" He couldn't help but raised a curious eyebrow. Liking sweets and chocolates was actually one of his secrets that was not revealed to anyone other than his grandmother, the fact that he was better at interacting with a child rather then Sakura or any other people who almost have the same age as him or older was actually another secret of his too.

He didn't know why was he like that either, but perhaps it was because he was able to relax a while and acted a little more childish to children rather than people nearing his age or older.

When she still didn't reply after a few seconds of silence, Sasori spoke. "Do I look that old to be your father?"

"No. My Daddy is much more handsome and amazing than you are."

"Oh really?" Sasori snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Yes. Much, much more!" Shana gestured a huge circle with her short little arms as she gazed proudly at the redhead, the fire's light reflecting the pride and respect that Shana held towards her father in her bright blue aqua eyes.

The redhead tried to stop himself from commenting on the child's immaturity before he got overboard and made the child run away again. He sighed, shaking his head inwardly.

"You are such a brat."

0o0

"Buh Bye!"

It took them exactly three days to reach the Land of Orchid and successfully sending the child back without harm.

After receiving the news that her sister died, the woman that had the same aqua as the child and her sister broke down into crying fits even though she tried not to embarrassed herself too much anymore. It didn't take Sakura long enough to comfort her down with the help of Shana when she innocently told her aunt the exact same thing Sakura had told her to made the child stop feeling so sad before her mother's grave.

Shana's aunt was hoping that the two foreigners would settle down in her cottage and have some tea for a while but Sasori rejected the offer almost immediately when the suggestion escaped from the lady's lips. In the end, they bade their farewell and headed to the nearest village they just passed by when they were travelling to the Land of Orchid.

Sakura had missions that required her to spend a couple of days with children that had the same age as Shana or even younger. Babysitting was the most common one and second would be escorting, which is rather similar to the request she was attending to. Sakura was always glad to have a cheerful kids by her side and it always helped to lighten up the mood between her teammates when they were doing the mission.

Of course she wasn't actually complaining that escorting Shana was boring compared to the missions she had in Konoha, it was actually even better since it kind of helped Sasori to realize that he was somehow a little immature too. And it was a side the Sakura didn't expect to see him at all.

But what were we talking about? Before joining Akatsuki, Sasori could be anything he wanted, laughing and smiling at all the silly things Shana did. But if he were to join Akatsuki, every small attempt to laugh or smile at a joke had to be considered twice before doing so, since it could ruin your reputation and it's totally not cool.

But the matter about Sasori smiling and laughing genuinely in front her for the first time wasn't _exactly _the important thing that Sakura was pondering about for the whole afternoon. The thing was that none of the children she ever encountered in a mission called her mom, or her partner, dad. And that was pretty awkward when Shana called both of them as her parents.

Due to the fact that the Land of Orchid was small and quiet and didn't have any room out for rent, they had to spend their night at that nearby village that was much more populated and packed with inns and shops aligned closely together down the street. It took them several minutes to reach there since they were travelling in a much fast pace then before.

"I'm hitting the bathe first!"

"No, I am."

"Who said so?"

"I said so."

Sasori shut the door right into Sakura's face as she lifted her chakra fist furiously and was about to knock the door down before thinking twice again. If she smashed it open, she would have to bathe without any door closed and that would be something nasty that she didn't want to happen.

The inn that they were planning to stay was just the same like the other ones that spent their nights in. Equally cheap and also supplying delicious food for breakfast tomorrow.

With Shana back with her aunt and everything was much less annoying; like what Sasori claimed, even though Sakura knew he must have miss her a little, they would be going right back travelling the very next day even though strolling in the town first didn't seem a bad idea at all. The village was in fact, the busiest town Sakura had ever encountered for the past one month or so when she was travelling around Earth country with Sasori. And by far, this trip with Sasori and her alone wasn't sort of a bad idea as long as Sakura still remembers why she was even doing here in the first place.

However, when an explosion occurred a few seconds after the bathroom door was slammed into Sakura's nose, it wasn't something that would utterly please the tourists, the housekeeper and Sasori, who was about to enjoy the hot shower he was looking forward to every single day.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Another long chapter. Thanks for the reviews that encouraged me to continue writing! It's a pleasure to read them again and again every time when I needed the motivation! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Anyway, Happy Halloween to those readers that celebrates Halloween out there! Treats for everyone! :D


	4. Associating!

**Lost Year**

Associating!

If someone wants to be part of your life, they'll make an effort to be in it.  
>So don't bother reserving a space in your heart for someone who doesn't make an effort to stay.<p>

Sakura could feel the huge vibration that was occurring in the room as she stared in disbelief at the huge crater on the wall and ceiling of the bathroom. The entire ceiling and half of the small bedroom was also disintegrated due to the explosion.

"Sasori!" The pinkette screamed and dashed into the smoke. She knew the redhead was still alive, but she just wanted to be very sure that he wasn't hurt at all. Sasori indirectly kept Sakura from worrying any further as he jumped out from the smoke and stood still on one of the shattered wall, unharmed and still well. He gave a sidelong glance to see if the medic was hurt, but he quickly diverted his attention away from her and onto the enemy since Sakura was obviously unscathed.

"What is happening?" There was a loud banging on the door as the housekeeper tried to force it open, but it would be useless due to the amount of rubbles that were blocking and preventing the door from opening successfully. Screams could be heard outside the inn as the tourists were running around shouting when the explosion occurred, thinking that there were some terrorists hunting for their precious life.

Sasori grabbed onto his kunai from his back pocket and got into his stance, he squinted his nut-brown eyes, trying to find who the hell had ruined his peace before the smoke managed to disperse.

But Sakura knew better.

"O…Oro-" Sakura dilated her emerald eyes at the man who was standing a few meters from Sasori. His infamous Akatsuki cloak was flapping rapidly due to the impact from the explosion.

As the smoke continued to dissipate, an extremely pale-skinned human with waist-length black hair was staring down at the redhead with both of his amber eyes with slits in his pupils and purple markings around his eyes; which remind both of the Shinobi of a snake.

"Orochimaru…" Sakura spoke in a whisper that only she could hear. She was still staring widely at the snake man who was licking his lips with his long tongue. Orochimaru decided to keep his third explosion tags since he knew that the damage he caused was enough to make Sasori appear before him.

She mouthed the Sanin's name again while walking dazedly towards the smoke, passing Sasori who was trying to surveillance the strange situation they were in.

As Orochimaru disregard the girl who was just beside the redhead in the pile of wreckage below him, he silently stepped forward at the edge of the devastating building and observed the puppeteer from above.

"Your fast reaction sure surprises me, though I would be greatly disappointed if you even get a scratch in the explosion." The Sanin spoke.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasori narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Orochimaru!" Sakura screamed her lungs out, unintentionally answering Sasori's question as he shockingly turned his attention to the pinkette beside him.

_Orochimaru?_ Sasori scrutinized that tall man before them.

"Hm?" The snake summoner spied on Sakura carefully before flipping back to the other side of the building when Sakura jumped up and produced a punch to the exact place where he was originally standing on, leaving a huge dent in that area.

After successfully landing on the rooftop of another building right beside the ruinous inn, he jumped back successfully after Sakura run after him and managed to escape from getting a hit as he handed back to the same spot as he first appeared before.

Sakura panted hard, knowing that landing a hit successfully on Orochimaru was impossible, but after trying a few times to hit him, she felt much more energetic and motivated to do her very best to even just put a small scratch on the Sanin; If that were to happen, her whole 16 years of living would already be worth it.

"I have to say, you do have the strength just like my other former teammate, Tsunade." He muttered, gawking at Sakura cautiously as he stood up behind the rubbles.

_Tsunade? Isn't she one of the people along with Orochimaru, who was claimed to be the Sanin by Hanzou?_ Sasori glanced at Sakura for a moment. That name suddenly rang a bell in his head; he was quite sure that he heard Sakura mentioned this name before, but he just couldn't remember when was it.

"I'll kill you!" She proclaimed before charging forward again.

He dodged all the attempted hits successfully and rather, unimpressively as he stared at Sakura uninterested. Although she's quite special to have such a humongous strength for a small girl like her, her speed and accuracy skills pulled her down.

When Orochimaru stood back and pulled out his arm under his sleeve, a couple of snakes crawled out in a rapid speed, catching Sakura off guard. She tried to take out her kunai to attack, but Sasori reacted faster. He grabbed onto Sakura's waist and pulled her away, taking the sharp kunai he had in his hand and sliced each of the snakes' head successfully.

Bringing Sakura safely onto the ground, he stepped back and away from Sakura, tying to hint her to stay out of his business. Although he was pretty sure his actions previously did not work at all when the pinkette was still so enraged by this certain Sanin.

Trying to force Orochimaru to turn his focus onto him instead, Sasori started fighting Orochimaru hand on hand without using his battling materials like his puppets. He didn't find a need to, since the redhead was quite positive that this suspicious man wasn't trying to harm them or anything, but rather, he wanted to debate on some matters with Sasori yet Sakura had interrupted him again and again from the start.

The puppeteer and the Sanin exchanged no words in the battle, but somehow Sasori knew that this Sanin was actually analyzing his battle skills, despite the fact that he didn't understand what the heck was Orochimaru doing that for.

But no matter what Sasori had done to make Orochimaru stop attacking Sakura again, the pinkette always tried to barge into the battle and charged towards Orochimaru aimlessly. Her mind was completely lost with the amount of anger and hatred she held in her heart. Sakura had never hankered to kill someone so badly but now it clearly shows how much she wanted to do so now.

"I won't allow you to make Sasori join Akatsuki!" Sakura cried out, finally in full rage. She knew Sasori had warned her from using any moves that required chakra, but she really wanted to use her full strength to beat up Orochimaru and Sakura knew she might have to break this promise between them any second.

Orochimaru ducked Sasori's shuriken attacked and landed at the edge of the building again, eyes a little wide and creepy for Sakura's taste. And the way he stared at her was just like some psychotic killer finding his or her next prey.

"Who are you, girl?" Orochimaru finally responded to her shouting and threats. "How do you know about our little organization?"

"I will stop you." Sakura yelled at the Sanin, ignoring his questions before turning to Sasori. "And I will stop you from joining them." She cried out, forcing herself not to shed a single tear in front of the two highly ranked ninja.

Sakura didn't like the disdained look she received when she glared threateningly at Orochimaru. However, she didn't know how to react to the confused and worried look Sasori was using to stare back at her.

"Akasuna no Sasori. I have a deal to make with you." Orochimaru observed Sasori who was still gazing at Sakura with that troubled frown. "Join Akatsuki. We have the power and we have the strength. We can reach our goals together-"

"Don't shit with me!" Sakura growled, jumping onto each of the shattered clumps of bricks and scurried towards the tallest side of the building to reach Orochimaru. She then raised her fist up high, aiming directly at Orochimaru to make sure that she wouldn't miss before she yelled out thunderously.

"I'll make you-" Before Sakura could even produce another attack, she slowly fall from the top of the ruins and had already became unconscious. If she couldn't save herself from the fall in time, her head could be pierce right though the sharp glass right beneath her…

A flash of red suddenly bolted from the broken bathroom door and towards the falling kunoichi. Sasori managed to catch Sakura before she had fallen to her death. Evidently, the medic had fainted due to the sudden stress that overwhelmed her and the overuse of her chakra.

"Sakura. Sakura!" The puppeteer shook onto the fragile looking girl that had fainted in his arms. Realizing that there was no point in calling out to her, Sasori slid his arms under her legs and back and lift her up from the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?" Orochimaru slyly said, walking steadily towards the two. Sasori carefully clung onto Sakura, slightly crouching in his position.

"I got a score to settle with you." Sasori sneered, grasping a little harder onto Sakura's attire as her pink locks brushed against his cheeks, tickling him. "However, this has got nothing to do with her. I don't want her to get involve."

Orochimaru halted in his movement as he glanced at the pinkette who was in Sasori's arm. He didn't really care whether if the girl had fainted or was dead, the Akatsuki member was just still slightly interested in how she actually knew him, since his name shouldn't be so popular in a town like this.

_Unless she's a Shinobi._ He licked his lips patiently before giving a small smirk. _Of course… With that strength she has, she must have been very well trained. If that Tsunade hadn't been a drunkard and a gambler all day every since Dan and her brother died, I would have thought that this girl was coached by that slug-princess._

However, the thing that truly shocked him was not just about her knowing his name, but when she also knew about this little organization called Akatsuki when Orochimaru was very certain that he never mentioned the name before. The organization had not made its way to fame yet since the amount of members that that had at the current moment was so little and they were trying to recruit strong and qualified Shinobi. Sasori was one of the people that the Leader wanted to recruit and apparently, this redhead could be his future partner if he were to join.

This girl could have been a spy or some sort, Orochimaru didn't care. But he had to keep that girl's face in mind in case something were to happen that might harm the group and when it was then needed to report it to the leader.

"I'll wait for you then." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, watching Sasori cautiously. "However if I realized that you had escaped and run away from here, I'll hunt you down and kill that girl." His lips twitched, liking how Sasori had flinched when he finished his sentence.

The short silence between them made Sasori realized he was finally granted to go safely without a fight. Walking backwards slowly, he swiftly turned and hopped down the building, landing softly on the ground. After making sure that Sakura was still alright, he glanced back at the premises for the last time.

The man that was after him was already gone. There left were just a few curious tenants looking around the wreckage in disbelief and also the housekeeper, who was standing onto nothing but rubbles, screaming in agony for the devastation caused to her inn.

0o0

A soft scraping sound was heard and Sakura could feel a shadow blocking out the lights above her. She slowly pried open her emerald eyes to find the redhead tugging the blanket just for her. She blinked once more to make sure she wasn't dreaming about the kind puppeteer doing such things for her.

"S-Sasori…" She mumbled wearily, staring at the Sand-nin who was no more than five centimeters from her face.

His movement halted immediately as he slowly diverted his attention to the pinkette who was staring exhaustedly at him. Without further do, he quickly scurried back on the chair silently and scuffed the wooden stool against the floor, acting like nothing had happened.

"W-Where am I?" Sakura rubbed her eyes tiredly before blinking them rapidly, trying to accommodate to the bright lights in the room. When she took in a deep breathe, she was immediately wide-awake. Sakura was familiarized with this type of medicine smell for 3 years already.

"The hospital." Sasori drawled, crossing his arms. "Due to over-fatigue."

Sakura positioned herself better on the bed as she turned to stare at Sasori who handed her a key.

"Here's the key to the room I rented at the west of the town nearest to the gate." He placed it onto the side of the bed before Sakura could reach out to take it. "Our room is the one that is closest to the stairs."

"What happened to the one we're staying in previously?" Sakura gasped, fiddling with the cool metal in her hand.

"Damage. Very badly." He snorted, looking away from a couple that was in the same ward as them. "If you didn't have amnesia, you should be pretty sure what had happened."

Sakura averted her gaze away from the stern-looking man beside her.

The silence between them was unbearable but Sakura wasn't bothered to break it just like any other time she was travelling with him. The rosette was tired, and she had no idea what to talk to the redhead either.

Sensing her discomfort, Sasori stood up abruptly and shocked Sakura as she jumped up a little from her position. Without a word spoken, he turned and was about to leave when something had caught his wrist, preventing him from leaving.

"Sasori." Sakura looked down, hand grasping onto his wrist as he stared impatiently at the girl. She bit her lips for a while before daring herself to look at his lazy chocolate-colored eyes.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

Sasori just stared at her, making no emotion or movement that showed Sakura he would reply her. Sakura's not going to deny her feelings right now but she's indeed truly worried for Sasori from the bottom of her heart.

After a minute of silence, Sasori finally replied unwillingly. "That's none of your business." He said blandly.

"Yes it is!" Sakura yelled, earning a few disapproving glances from the patients and the visitors in the same ward as her. Sasori raised his eyebrow, ignoring the glares that were directed from them to him as well.

Sakura lowered her head as she shifted on her bed, causing a loud creaking sound. "Please don't go anywhere." She uttered softly.

"What is wrong with you?" Sasori questioned, slowly sitting back onto the stool again. Sakura immediately released her grip, knowing that Sasori was extremely uncomfortable with it even though he didn't mention about his uneasiness.

"You're acting reckless previously and I haven't even talk to you about it." He gave a pause, looking at Sakura wearily. "You seemed to know him, yet he was obviously unaware about your existence. What on earth happened between you and him?" Sasori asked, his tone trying to sound uncaring and bored.

"It's complicated." Sakura admitted sourly.

Sasori sighed inwardly, knowing that it would be pointless to force his companion to spit out anything. Soon, it was back to that awkward silence again. The redhead obviously didn't like how Sakura was acting so impassive and dejected right now, he preferred her more bubbly and cheerful personality.

"I won't be joining Akatsuki, or whatever they called their organization." He gave a slight halt and glanced briefly at the pinkette. "If that's what you are worrying about." He muttered.

Sakura blinked, tearing her gaze from her feet at the end of the bed before staring strangely at Sasori. The medic didn't exactly know how he knew what was worrying her all along since she never mentioned about it. But Sakura tried to remain that stoic expression she learnt from Sasori as she answered quietly.

"You wouldn't?" She tilted her head to one side.

He shook his head, slightly turning his head to the other side of the room, avoiding making any eye contact with Sakura.

"I don't see why is there a need for me to join them when I'm currently enjoying what I am doing now."

"I'm sorry but-" Sakura paused as she raised an innocent eyebrow, staring in confusion at the redhead. "-What is the thing that you enjoyed doing now?" She stretched her neck, trying her best to see Sasori's expression.

"Are you an idiot?" The puppeteer mumbled quietly.

"How would I know what you meant when you are saying things that I don't understand?" Sakura pouted, partially glad that Sasori said he wouldn't join the Akatsuki.

"I enjoyed travelling with you and I don't intend to go anywhere or do anything other than travelling with you. Get it?"

Sakura blinked.

He ruffled his crimson red hair and stared awkwardly at her feet beneath the bed sheets.

"But if you want to break the travelling deal between us, you can do it anytime you want. Even if you do, I'll still keep my promise and wouldn't join Akatsuki."

There were some words that were trapped in Sakura's throat yet she was unable to say them out. She didn't know how to react to the sudden response given by Sasori.

"So Miss Sakura have woken up." A nurse walked into the ward after noticing the pinkette staring back at her. The nurse exited and appeared shortly once again, one hand holding onto a chart while the other hand holding onto a familiar equipment that Sakura always see in the hospital back in Konoha.

"Excuse me. Please allow me to check her blood pressure." The nurse inquired politely at the redhead.

"I'll go get some fresh air." He stated and stood up from his stool, moving away while the nurse approached Sakura like what she wanted.

"Will you come back?" Sakura asked worriedly, grabbing onto the bed sheets tightly till her knuckles turned white, not exactly liking the idea about getting separated from the Sand-nin.

"Yes." He gave a curt nod without looking back and trudged out of the room in a second.

The medic just quietly let the nurse take her blood pressure as the ward fell back into silence again.

After a few minutes, the nurse had ensured that Sakura's blood pressure was perfectly fine. She took her equipment and prepared to leave the room. "I'll take your blood pressure two hours later. If everything is alright, you can leave." The caregiver assured her before leaving the ward for Sakura to rest.

0o0

Sasori walked down the crowded street, ignoring the villagers that bumped into him or trying to sell him the food or products from their store.

In order to get Sakura back to the hospital safely, he already agreed with Orochimaru that he would get back to him or both of them would get hunted down and things wouldn't turned out as nicely as everyone wished to be.

At first, Sasori was a little pissed off for the need to search for the snake man since the puppeteer was actually unwilling to do so, but it didn't take him long enough to find out where he was when Orochimaru had purposely exposed his chakra signature in the woods to let Sasori locate him easily, which the Sand-nin was slightly grateful for.

"So, have you decided?" Orochimaru licked his dry purple lips with his long tongue, eyeing Sasori with a certain respect. The leader had ordered him to find that missing puppeteer who had escaped from the Wind village to be his partner, so this redhead should have done something to catch the leader's attention. Although it was a little easy following him around since there was this obvious colour of pink sticking around with him.

"Yes. But I'm positive that you would not like my answer." Sasori spoke with his deadpanned expression, staring ahead at the Sanin who was leaning against a tree in the huge clearing, which was coincidentally perfect for it to be a battle scene.

"I don't like using the forceful way, but since you insisted." The Akatsuki member stood up straight and slowly stretched out both of his arm, aiming at the puppeteer. In an instant, a dozen of snakes appeared under his cloak and attacked the Sand-nin in a matter of seconds.

0o0

"Is it here?" She tapped onto the door softly, before knocking it even louder. There wasn't any sound or movement in the room. She guessed Sasori hadn't come back from the get-some-fresh-air adventure like he had promised that he would come back after the nurse had checked up on her, but after waiting for another hour after she was released form the hospital, the medic gave up and came to the inn on her own after finding some food to eat.

Thinking that she had to stay outside until the redhead came back, she recalled that Sasori had left the key for her so she could come back whenever she wanted. She fished out the key from her back pocket and slotted the door key in successfully.

Turning the doorknob slowly, Sakura peeked into the dark room, feeling slightly relieved that Sasori had chosen two single beds for today's stay so she didn't have to snatch for the blanket again.

After looking around to observe the room carefully, making sure that nothing was amiss and the inn was safe to stay, she slowly trudged in and towards the single bed nearest to the door and slumped heavily onto the soft and creaky mattress.

The medic untied both of her kunai and first aid pouch and placed it nicely on the bedside table, finally letting all her weariness out and lay down on the bed tiredly.

She wasn't going to find any more excuses to lie to herself about not able to attack the Sannin when she wished she could. She knew that her strength and power hadn't reached the potential to do such a thing.

"If I am stronger. I could have killed Orochimaru at that point of time when I had the chance." Sakura grabbed onto the bed sheets till she could almost hear the ripping sound.

"This isn't working." Sakura mumbled. "I don't think I can stop Sasori from joining Akatsuki and change this stupid future."

_'Why do you think so? Didn't he said he likes travelling with you?'_ The voice in her inner mind spoke. Ever since this old man had started invading her thoughts, her inner self that always disturbed her musing when she was just a twelve years old girl had stopped appearing.

"Yes but people changed their mind often." She sighed inwardly, her bright emerald eyes glimmering in the dim-lit room. "Furthermore, why would he want to travel with a weak girl who fainted so easily in such a chaotic situation and could not even help to do a single thing?" The horrible and familiar feeling for being useless came back to her again.

_'Why must you always have to discourage yourself like that? Everyone has his or her weak side. Even Sasori does.'_

"I'm not trying to dishearten myself." Sakura mumbled, turning to let the side of her stomach to lie on the bed. She rested her chin on one of the pillow and gave a soft yawn. "I actually thought I could catch up with Sasuke or at least Naruto. But now, I doubt I can even-" Sakura shook her head and stuffed her head into the soft cushion.

_'I'm pretty sure Sasori doesn't felt that way.'_

"I'm pretty sure that you are right." Sakura muffled sarcastically into the pillow.

The old man became silence once Sakura had spoke out the seven words so icily. He would usually demand Sakura to stop depressing herself, but he seemed to understand how miserable she felt when she was unable to do anything to help Sasori. Just like the Forest of Death incident where she was only helplessly screaming and yelling out for Naruto and Sasuke's name.

Sakura raised her head and turned again, letting her back resting on the bed as she stared at the ceiling in daze once again.

Perhaps Sasori was right. At that moment when he was dying in between of his parent's puppet, he claimed that emotions are useless and only makes Shinobi weak. And before he died, all she did was screaming at him about the importance of life and family when obviously he knew how important it is.

Sakura felt horrible. She had never truly been able to put herself in Sasori's shoe since no one that was as close as her parents had died, or having to suffer that loneliness since she always had so many friends behind her back. Now when she recalled herself punching him and yelling at him about feelings, family and life, she realized how stupid she was.

It was true… those words that left Sasori's mouth after Sakura had rebuked him on that day they battled 16 years later.

Emotions were things that make ninja so vulnerable and weak. If Sakura weren't so engulfed in her emotions, there would be the chance that she was able to beat Orochimaru.

Sakura violently kicked the blanket as it slowly covered her entire body after a few attempts. She fluffed up her pillow before lying comfortably on it, facing the bed that was beside hers, still as tidied like before.

There was absolutely no point in thinking all about this anyway since there wasn't anything she could do now…

0o0

"Shit." The redhead cursed, accidentally stumbling onto one of the roots on the soft ground as he fell right on his face, pathetically and weak in his opinion.

He gave a loud grunt, silently whimpering when more blood flow out through the small gaps in between his fingers where he had tried to cover his wound at the abdomen area. Sasori slowly pushed himself off the ground using his other arm and started off with his knees next before brisk walking back to the town not far ahead. As he attempted to ignore the amount of blood that had soaked his shirt and stained his hand, he recalled that the blade that had caused him the serious injury was already abandoned at the river a few meters away from where he was now.

The battle between him and the Sanin didn't go like what he wanted, and he was already expecting that situation to happen. With that sword plunging right through his stomach, he had no choice but to escape from the battle, although it might bruise his ego to the furthest extend where he couldn't accept at all. Sasori hated running away, but he knew if he continued to be stubborn and stayed there, his life would have ended sooner that he blinked.

Luckily, he still managed to retrieve several of his prized puppets back; examples like Hiruko and his current favorite one, the third Kazekage. He had spent almost half a year to complete the third Kazekage and turned him successfully into a human puppet. And he was quite unwilling to have to show his prized collection to that sickening Orochimaru just like that.

No. He didn't even have the choice to choose if he wanted to fight with the Kazekage puppet at all; he was forced to reveal his best puppet actually.

Orochimaru had sent out the first and the second Kazekage using the forbidden jutsu that Sasori heard the first Hokage had created.

The Impure World Resurrection technique.

Orochimaru had two of his_ comrades_ that seemed to have a crazy Kekkei Genkai or something by his side too. They had the ability to change into different forms when a sort of weird looking tattoo overwhelmed the person. Not that Sasori was interested in what the hell the technique or jutsu was; he was actually stunned to see that Orochimaru used his _partners_ to successfully carry out the Impure World Resurrection technique.

And to think that Sasori had to be his accomplice when he joined Akatsuki like what Orochimaru had boasted and claimed about, the redhead's life could possibly end just like that two friends of the Sanin who fought till the end for him, yet they were used just like that.

There's no way Sasori would be associating with him in any manner when he had treated his collaborators like that.

After Orochimaru sent out the two Kazekage using the corpse of his comrades, Sasori managed to defeat and seal the second Kazekage successfully. However when he was done, the puppeteer had almost no more chakra left to attack both Orochimaru and the first Kazekage. Furthermore, with the grave injury he suffered when the first Kazekage plunged the sword into him, escaping was the only choice left.

"That bastard." Sasori muttered, slowing down his pace as he started panting heavily. He stood silently and tried to sense if Orochimaru was still following him. After a few minutes of making sure that the Akatsuki member wasn't after him anymore, he slowly sat on the dry ground and leaned against a tall tree that was fortunately nearby that spot where he had halted in the woods.

"Damn it." Sasori licked his dry lips tiredly, taking in a deep breath afterwards. He's going to pass out anytime soon, and the redhead wasn't too sure if he would be even able to wake up the next morning due to the amount of blood he might lose during the number of hours left until sunrise.

The Sand-nin smirked, trying to picture Sakura's reaction if she were to find out that he was dead or thinking that he had betrayed her and went to the Akatsuki. Both of her response shown should be rather interesting for him to see…

Ah… Why was he even wasting his last moments thinking about that pinkette? He inwardly shook his head, too tired to even ponder about it. Sasori wasn't too sure what he was exactly feeling right now since his mind was rather blank and foggy, but the Sand-nin was rather glad he was able to tell Sakura that he had always liked travelling with her.

But then, everything's going to end here, just like that. Nothing in his life would last forever; Not his parents, not his best memories with that pink-haired brat, not his life as well.

Everything was going to end so miserably and cruelly, although he always thought that he would die after he had finished his 300 puppet collections. Guess that not everything would end like what we always wante-

"Akasuna no Sasori." A muffled and deep voice suddenly spoke, yet the redhead still could hear his name called out very clearly

The puppeteer took all the energy he had left to open both of his brown eyes, to only see two feet before his pathetic self. As he forced himself to raise his head, the voice continued to speak.

"Not bad." Sasori could hear the sound of a few pieces of paper shuffling. "You're worth 65 million ryo, and that's a lot of money."

Before the redhead could even respond, he felt himself being forcefully lifted up and slung onto the bulky man's shoulder. He tried to strike back, but he knew his effort would be fruitless, as he didn't even have any chakra left to resist at all.

But in spite of the black dots that started appearing in his vision, Sasori swore that he just saw a familiar red cloud symbol on the mysterious man's black cloak.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I have planned out the ending for this story quite successfully and I got to say, it would be rather fun to write this one. Although my update timing might become irregular due to the amount of remedial lessons piling up as there is a very important exam taking place in next year and it would require a lot of lessons since I'm somehow (sad but very true) weak in my sciences.

Okay, my Author's note is getting to nowhere, but I would be glad to hear some reviews from you if you don't mind sharing your thoughts in this chapter!


	5. Expecting!

**Lost Year**

Expecting!

People who hurt you are like sandpapers, they may cause you pain.  
>But when it's over, you'll be polished while they'll be useless.<p>

What if…

What if she couldn't reach her in time?

"Lady Chiyo!"

The long sword pierced right through the fragile old lady menacingly, and a loud wince echoed the cave afterwards.

"No!"

With a jolt, Sakura sat up on her bed. Her pillow drenched with sweat and the blanket was already kicked on the floor. She continued panting hard, trying to keep herself calm.

"It's all a dream. Just a dream." Sakura muttered, her eyes slowly drew towards the tidied bed beside her, not even a single wrinkle could be seen on the bed sheet.

"Sasori?" Sakura felt herself calling out for his name before she even knew what she had said. She steadily grabbed the blanket and placed it neatly onto the bed before walking up towards the bathroom right at the corner of the room. The pinkette stood there for about three seconds before knocking onto the door when she couldn't hear a single sound inside.

"Are you in there?" She carried on with another loud knock before deciding to open the door to check it out herself instead, only to reveal no sign of the redhead at all.

Sakura carelessly shrugged, thinking that the puppeteer might have gone to have breakfast without her. The medic went to cool herself down by running the tap and splashing the cold water onto her face to make her much more awake.

After preparing herself for the day, she approached to the restaurant below the inn and glanced at every corner, but no redhead could be found anywhere at all.

She slowly sat at the chair corner by the window and rested her arms on the table, still scanning the entire restaurant. The waitress came forward to take her order before leaving Sakura alone again.

_Come to think of it, he never tells me where he was going when he wanted to leave in the first place._ She widened her emerald eyes that reflected signs of horror and betrayal.

"He couldn't have…" She spoke in a whisper.

"Your dumplings is here. Enjoy." The waitress placed the small plate of food on the table before leaving to mind her own business.

"He couldn't have…" Sakura repeated, slowly staring at the dumpling on the platter as if the food before her would actually answer her question.

The pair of wooden chopsticks that Sakura was clutching so hard snapped into two within a second. She fished out a couple of notes and coins for the bill from her back pocket as she hastily left the small restaurant and departed to the middle on the town in a minute.

_Where could he be?_ The medic briskly past through the crowd of residents who were bargaining the storeowner to cut down the price for groceries they were buying. She continued looking around frantically, trying to spot any redhead from the crowd.

_Where… would he go? _

"Hey you are late!" A lady who was fanning herself with a stack of papers as her friend swiftly approached her.

"I'm sorry." She gave an apologetic smile.

"Haruka had gone ahead to put these posters of her missing cat an hour ago." The woman who was waiting for her friend spoke while handing half of the stack of papers she had.

"Actually, I don't think there is a point in looking for her cat. It had run away yesterday and even if the forest is at the other side of the town, the cat doesn't require a day to get out of the village and ran into the woods already." The latecomer commented.

"If you let Haruka hear this. She'll never forgive you." The other chided.

Sakura stopped on her tracks as she whirled around. Her lips parted slowly and her eyes were suddenly so dull and emotionless as she watched the two women hastily walking down the streets.

They were actually right. What on earth was she searching anyway?

If Sasori had left with Orochimaru yesterday, why on earth would they still be in the town when they could cover the entire village in less than ten minutes. By the time she had came back from the hospital, Sasori could have already crossed the border to the next village.

Sakura failed. She had failed her mission.

She didn't know whether to weep or scream in the middle of the town. All she did was standing rooted to the ground even when a few villagers bumped into her when they were trying to walk.

What should she do?

"How much is these."

The familiar voice made Sakura fresh awake again. The medic spun around, witnessing the person who had that familiar voice as she whispered loudly to herself.

"Kakuzu?" Sakura gasped, realizing that the man who she called might hear her, she quickly camouflage with a group of ladies who were buying cucumbers.

She recognized that man who Naruto had defeated with his Rasen-Shuriken.

Not liking the amount of money he had to spend for these garbage – to him it's garbage since he wasn't buying for himself – he gave a loud scowl that scared several customers away before proceeding out of the pharmacy and down the streets. He was still wearing the same cloak that every other Akatsuki members wore in the future.

Knowing that her pink hair was redundant for following Kakuzu, she transformed herself into an innocent foreigner who appeared to be wandering around. Apparently, Kakuzu didn't sense anything unusual when Sakura was following him all along.

He finally reached to the other side of the village and he stood before a rather cheap inn, walking in after acknowledging the signboard. Kakuzu walked past the counter while the housekeeper just gave a polite greeting, meaning that he had rent a room much earlier before.

Sakura, in her form of a female foreigner, walked towards the counter and ordered for a room. Just in case when Kakuzu suddenly pushed her to the wall and demanded why was she following him, she had proof that she was actually staying here.

After paying the rent, she walked up the wooden stairs and it creaked when she took every step. She tried to quicken her pace but not too obvious so that she could catch up with Kakuzu and know why was he doing here.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed a man closing the door at the far end of the corridor. After making sure that her chakra signature was kept hidden, she slowly made her way towards the room.

"Drink this. It replenishes the amount of blood you had loss."

Sakura could hear some sipping sound followed by continues amount of coughing. "It taste so bitter."

"It cost me a bomb. Don't make me force you."

How she wished she had a pair of Byakugan so she could actually see what on earth was happening inside. She could recognize the one who had drank the stuff and claimed that it tasted bitter was a man, but she couldn't confirm if he was actually someone she knew since the voice was hoarse and faint.

As she stepped closer and put her ear close towards the door, a soft creak sounded as she inwardly gasped. The room was filled with silence and Sakura prayed that they didn't hear anything. But sometimes, not everyone's wish could be granted.

In a heartbeat, the door flung open and Sakura stood back just in time. However, in that split second, a rough grip suddenly grabbed around Sakura's neck, dragging her into the room as she tried to scream, but the tight grasp around her neck prevent her from doing so.

"L-Let go." Sakura weakly cried out after her transformation effect was gone in a poof.

A few threads threateningly rose above the pinkette's head, ready to strike right through her head.

"Kakuzu." A weak voice called out followed by a wince. "Let her go."

Sakura did her best just to pry open on of her eyes, only able to glance at the familiar redhead who was watching weakly at her, wanting to help so much yet he couldn't.

"Sa-Sasori?" She muttered hoarsely, trying to pull Kakuzu's hand away from her neck. When Ino had told her experience about Kakuzu strangling her and Choji when they return back to the village, Sakura didn't really understand how terrified the blonde was, but now she could totally relate it to her current situation.

"Who is she?" He growled, pulling the medic closer to him. Sakura continued hitting his arm that was slowly tightening every second.

The redhead tried to stand up from the bed as fast as possible but his legs gave way and he slumped back onto the mattress weakly. He was not going to give up there as he focused his little amount of chakra left in him to his feet, letting him standing and walking towards Kakuzu steadily.

Sasori went forward placed his hand on Kakuzu's arm, indicating for the Waterfall-nin to put his hand down.

"A companion of mine. She's not an enemy." He said, trying to hide how shaky his voice was.

Only after two seconds passed when he finally released her and let her fall onto the ground. Sakura squatted on the floor and started coughing heavily while rubbing softly onto her bruised neck.

"I don't un-understand Sasori. I've expected you to join Akatsuki sooner or later but at least don't make a promise when you're going to break it." Sakura continued chocking, not caring if the mention of Akatsuki affected Kakuzu or not.

"What are y-" Before he could even argue back, a loud wince escaped from his mouth as he clutched onto his stomach.

Sakura slowly stood up, panting heavily and refilling air into her lungs, she glared at both Kakuzu and Sasori.

"I actually have the rights to kill you since you knew about the organization and you weren't part of it." Kakuzu stared at her in disdain before continuing. "I have no intention in forcing him to join Akatsuki like what Orochimaru did. From the start when he first joined the organization, I don't like him a single bit. And I was actually hoping that you could kill that snake man when you were fighting with him." Kakuzu stared at Sasori before moving his green iridescence eyes to Sakura.

_Fighting?_ Sakura diverted her gaze from the tall man to the weak man who slowly stepped back and slumped onto the bed.

"Are you injured?" Sakura trudged towards the redhead, watching how hard he was clutching onto his abdomen.

"This injury…" She paused in mid-sentence, finding that there was no need to continue. And there she was thinking that Sasori deserved it because he had broken her trust towards him. "You fought Orochimaru because you declined his offer?"

The silence was his answer.

_He really…_

"Can I see?" She said patiently, just like how she treated the rest of her patients in Konoha.

Sasori didn't argue or anything, so Sakura just rolled up his blood stained shirt and stared at the bloodied wound that was stitched up by threads which Sakura suspected were actually the same threads that Kakuzu were pointing threateningly at her when he was about to kill her.

"I have a question." Sakura spoke out formerly even when she knew there was no such need. "Why did you keep Sasori alive?" The question was directed to Kakuzu even though she never turned her head to look at him.

"I'm a sort of a treasurer in Akatsuki and bounty hunting is part of my job to raise funds." That was all he answered, and Sakura knew what he meant. She turned to face Sasori in horror before looking back at Kakuzu cautiously.

Bounty hunters usually kill their target before sending their body to the respective bounty station in exchange for the money. But the thing was, Sakura didn't understand why Kakuzu go that far to keep Sasori alive when he could have left Sasori bled to death before sending him to the bounty station.

No, it's not like Sakura was actually bothered about it since she was very pleased that Kakuzu didn't left Sasori to die, but she was just puzzled. And the medic disliked it when she came across something that she was really curious of yet she didn't have the answer.

"I could have kill him without even you telling." He sat down on a coach, taking out some papers from a hidden pocket in his cloak and looked at it, as if he actually doubted himself too. "But they specifically stated that they wanted him alive. So having him dead would be pointless."

Sakura blinked. She only heard of one in a thousand occasions where they actually requested for the wanted criminal to be taken back alive. Most of them wanted them dead so they could use them for experiments, but most of the case was because having them dead would be better so the captured bounty wouldn't actually kill anyone or destroy the village or the bounty station if they had gained back their strength and power to fight.

"I need to rest." Sasori said weakly, lying back on the bed before Sakura could further check his injury if he had any infection. But he soon fell asleep before Sakura could even nag at him. Although Sasori was dead tired from the start, he still bothered to stop Kakuzu from killing her, and that was something that Sakura was very grateful for.

She took a small stool at the corner of the room and settled it beside the bed. As she unrolled the shirt again, her warm green chakra hovered over Sasori's wound as Sakura tried her best to heal him as much as she can.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow and gasped softly in disbelief. "You're a medic?"

_No. I'm a wizard. _"Yes, I am."

As Kakuzu put the papers back into his cloak pocket, Sakura could have sworn that she caught a glimpse of the Sunagakure stamp on it.

But no matter, she continued to concentrate on the healing, trying to ignore the curious stare that was directed to her.

"W-Where is the location for the exchange?" She inquired, politely again.

"The Wind village."

And she was actually hoping that what she seen on the paper was just hallucination.

This isn't good. If Sasori resist, there might be a battle. She glanced carefully at the puppeteer who was still sleeping soundly on the bed.

"I don't really care about what is the relationship between the two of you, but where are you from?"

"Konohagakure."

"Hn."

Oh. She had almost_ forgotten_ what Ino had told her. This man with all those stitches before her had claimed to Kakashi and Team 10 about his encounter with the first Hokage a few decades ago. And it was because of the failed assassination that had Kakuzu tortured by his own village when he had actually put his life on the line to kill the first Hokage. This old man wouldn't hold a grudge against a small little girl from Konoha, would he?

A member from Konoha killed Sasori's parents. Kakuzu was actually despised by his own village because he failed to assassinate a member of Konoha too. So... Was she actually at risk from getting murdered because she was from Konoha, the village they both had resentment to?

Sakura shuddered inwardly, eyeing cautiously at the door and estimating how heavy Sasori was. If there's a chance, maybe she could…

"You are coming with me."

"Why should I?" Sakura sneered, her green chakra soon faded as she swallowed hard, trying to ignore the sudden dizziness she felt.

Actually, if Sakura's escaping plan was to backfire and Kakuzu attempted to kill her for the second time, she would actually use her healing ability as an excuse to join Kakuzu and get Sasori back to the Wind village. Sakura's not going to leave Sasori no matter what, she had done it once and Sakura had admittedly regretted it like now as she watched sadly at the redhead who was still sleeping, oblivious to what was going around him.

Even if her I-have-healing-ability-so-you-must-take-me-too method didn't work and Kakuzu didn't want her to come along with him, she would definitely do something to _make _him agree.

But she had to stay calm and collective no matter what. She couldn't let the Waterfall-nin thought that she actually _wanted_ to join him. Then, this entire plan would be more convincing.

"I require your healing skills."

_Of course_

"What if I say no?" Sakura quirked an eyebrow and gave a look that challenged Kakuzu.

A small smirk appeared behind his mask, which reminded Sakura about Kakashi.

"I'll kill you."

It took her quite some time to calm down after hearing that low, deep and threatening voice of his. If she was still the twelve years old klutz, she swore she could have fallen onto the ground and started crying.

Kakuzu stood up from the chair and noticed how tense Sakura was when he did. He gave a last glance at the redhead before moving to the door.

"I have some business to settle. Try to escape and I'll snap your neck once I found you." And the door closed behind him.

Kakuzu knew about the very critical rule that was set by the leader; about not allowing to sabotage any of the Akatsuki members and turning them in for money. Of course, this rule was only directed to the treasurer of Akatsuki, but this redhead was another thing.

Orochimaru almost killed Sasori during their battle, like what he had observed from afar when he had coincidentally passed by. And from that simple battle, he could already tell that the snake man wasn't holding back at all. If Orochimaru were to report to the leader that he had failed to get Sasori to join, perhaps Kakuzu could add some _more information_, saying that Sasori was _dead_ when he tried to escape from Orochimaru.

Of course, the leader wouldn't be stupid to believe entirely both what he and Orochimaru said and would check it out himself. But since Kakuzu had some friendly connection with a few bounty officers, he could just tell them to change some information and stated that someone had already turned in Sasori's corpse for the exchange of money.

Yes. That's the plan.

Kakuzu nodded to himself slowly, taking his time to walk down the corridor of the inn.

0o0

Sakura sighed loudly after hearing the footsteps outside the door faded. She looked back at the redhead who was cuddling himself on the bed.

He looked just like a small and innocent child, so defenseless right now.

After a whole fifteen minutes, Sakura only realized that she was actually watching Sasori sleeping when a fly disturbed her sight when it landed on her nose.

"Shoo." Sakura frowned, waving it around so the fly would finally go away.

_"I enjoyed travelling with you and I don't intend to go anywhere or do anything other than travelling with you. Get it?"_

Sakura blinked, not knowing why she suddenly remembered what he had said when she was lying on the hospital bed just yesterday. The kunoichi could feel her face warming up as she lightly touched her cheeks, slightly puzzled why she was acting like that.

"Haruno Sakura, what on earth are y-"

"No…"

The pinkette blinked once again, turning her attention to the redhead. "Sasori?" Sakura stared worriedly at him, who was actually frowning ominously when he was actually sleeping so peacefully like a few seconds ago.

_Is he having a nightmare?_ Sakura pondered, watching Sasori who was starting to move about in his sleep.

"No… It's not true…" He muttered weakly, his grip on the bed sheets tightened and his knuckles turned white.

"Sasori-"

"Lies!"

When Sakura went forward to reach out to the trembling redhead and wanted to shake his shoulder to wake him up, Sasori's eyes flung wide open. He then grabbed onto the kunoichi's hand that was touching his shoulder and tugged her down onto the bed, with him grasping tightly onto both of her wrists and pinning her down beneath him.

"Lies!" He bawled weakly.

"Sasori…" Sakura closed both of her eyes in pain, wincing at the harsh grip on her wrist and her sudden back pain when she was slammed onto the bed roughly. As she pried open her emerald eyes, she was staring right at the two frightened and scared chocolate-brown eyes. It suddenly reminded her of an incident during a time when a small girl was brought to the hospital as her parents were being taken away as hostage and murdered afterwards by a group of escape prisoners.

Those eyes, those two brown eyes that Sakura was staring right at held the same terror as the ones Sakura witnessed back at the hospital when she was accompanying the child.

"Lies!" He howled, his volume raised only a little than before.

"Sasori!" Sakura called out, trying to snap him back to reality.

Only after a few seconds, Sasori swiftly want back to his normal state as he moved away slowly to let Sakura get up from the bed.

"Are you alright?" Sakura sat up from the bed and eyed Sasori cautiously. He still looked so dazed that Sakura suspect that he didn't even hear what she had said a second ago.

Sakura reached out to his forehead and gently placed her hand on it. He flinched, not expecting the sudden warmth on his brow. But in a second, he soon calmed down and got used to Sakura's touch, letting her estimating what was his body temperature without demanding her to back away.

"You have a fever." Sakura blurted worriedly, moving her hand away from him and stood up from the bed, almost forgetting what just happened between the two of them.

She helped Sasori to adjust his position as he lay comfortably back onto the bed. The efficient medic then turned and headed to the bathroom, appearing outside again in a minute with a small towel that was soaked with cold water.

_Perhaps it was because of the nightmare and fever, resulting in the sudden action just now._ Sakura folded it a few times before putting it gently on Sasori's forehead.

She sat back on the small chair beside the bed and observed Sasori who seemed to have fallen back to sleep again.

Sakura gazed at the door impatiently, wondering what on earth could Kakuzu be doing to take him that long to settle his business.

"Why are you here?"

At first, Sakura just ignored him for a moment, thinking that Sasori was just sleep-talking. Only when she had finished glaring at the door and finally turned back, the female teenager noticed that the redhead was staring at her with those tired eyes of his.

"W-What do you mean?"

"How do you find me here?"

"I've found Kakuzu wearing the same cloak as Orochimaru so I decided to follow him to see if I can find you."

"Why did you take such long measures to find me?"

"Well maybe because I like travelling with you too?"

A long silence filled the room, and Sasori remained staring at Sakura as if everything was just a dream.

"You should get some rest so that your fever will go away soon."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Sakura frowned, not liking it when Sasori was ignoring her advice.

"Getting so close to me."

Another long silence.

"You should just rest. Stop thinking about it so much." She kindly tugged in the blanket for him before settling down on the stool. Thinking that it would actually be fine not answering him, she realized that she was actually wrong when Sasori purposely shifted his position, letting the towel fell on the bed before turning again and letting his back facing her.

0o0

"We are leaving now." Kakuzu grumbled.

"Why don't we stay for the night?" Sakura suggested.

"No. Staying for the night means paying more money."

"At least let me finish healing Sasori first before we depart."

He gave a small snort before settling himself on a small couch. "An hour is all I give."

"Are you sending me back to the Wind village?" Sasori inquired, sitting up slowly with Sakura's guidance. He had a few guesses in mind already, and to his not-so-surprise, his first guess was correct.

"Yes." Kakuzu replied.

Although Sakura was trying her best to focus on healing his injuries, she couldn't help but felt a sort of menacing air around the redhead. Her head was lowered and her eyes were focused on a cut on his arm, but she could feel the harsh glare Sasori was directing at Kakuzu and her.

Before the one hour ended, Sakura had roughly done healing some cuts and bruises that Sasori had suffered. Since he was lying on the bed, it was rather impossible to heal the injuries he sustained when he was lying on his back so Sakura had no choice but to heal them now. Although most of the scratches were healed completely, the deep gash that Sasori had in the abdomen area was not fully healed. Kakuzu had used his threads to sew up the wound and Sakura had tried to patch the wound up, but it could only be fully healed if Sasori was given the ample rest and proper medication.

And truthfully, Sakura doubt that Sasori could be fully healed in a week if he continued to strain his injury whenever they were walking, running or perhaps battling if they encountered someone that wanted their life.

Sasori lifted himself carefully from the bed and tried his best not to reopen his wound like what Sakura had nagged him about thousands of times.

"Let's go." Kakuzu said, opening the door and closing it behind him when the other two had left.

As they slowly walked down the corridor, Sakura saw two drunken couple heading towards the room where they had previously left. And all Sakura did was to shrug and bustled her way down the stairs to catch up with Kakuzu and Sasori.

She have never met someone so thrifty as Kakuzu and she would never know what other kind of methods did the bounty hunter used to save and earn money, but she knew whoever his wife or children were, they sure were some lucky people if they were to inherit all his fortune once he dies.

0o0

Darkness soon fell, and the forest was almost pitch black. They had been running since late afternoon and hadn't stop since then. Even Sakura was tired, let alone the injured redhead who was now and then trying to suppress a wince whenever his abdomen felt a sharp pain.

Of course when Kakuzu had received the new set of bounty list, the other regular bounty hunters would also get one too. And currently, Sasori's one of the top three that had the highest amount of bounty on his head.

"That man. He's the one we are looking for." A youngster with no headband to indicate which country was he from pointed at Sasori who had stopped in his track when almost a dozen of men suddenly blocked their path.

Another man, however, had a headband around his forehead that showed that he belongs to the Earth country, grabbed onto his blade and recklessly charged forward.

Before he could even land a single scratch on the redhead, Kakuzu's arm flew across the clearing and made him slammed onto a tree, unconscious in a second. Kakuzu then had his arm connected back to his entire body in no time, before stepping forward and glared at the group who were slightly tensed at how powerful the Akatsuki member was.

"This bounty is mine." He hissed.

"I don't think so." Another hunter out of the ten members blurted out.

Sakura prepared her stance, trying her best to get use to the darkness around her. The best way to detect where the enemy was would be by the sound of their movement, like what she was taught by Tsunade. She concentrated hard and finally got a hang of it when a member was flung away with her punch when he attempted to attack Sakura.

They started attacking and Kakuzu had managed to knock almost everyone out so easily like breathing while Sakura just managed to punch two of them unconscious and Sasori just remained standing there, as if daring anyone to come and lay a hand on him. No one managed to since Kakuzu had blocked every attack that was aiming at Sasori.

Frustrated, the leader grabbed onto a scroll behind his back and rolled it open, aiming the middle part of the scroll towards the Sand-nin. He then threw the scroll into the air and made a couple of hand signs.

"Sasori!" Sakura noticed the leader was actually preparing an attack to the redhead as she started running over to Sasori who was preparing to summon one of his puppets out. She knew that if the man were to attack Sasori with some sort of jutsu, he might not be able to withstand it due to the injury he sustained in the early battle he had just yesterday.

Medics were supposed to make sure that their teammates were not injured, right?

A bright light engulfed the scroll as circle of weird kanji words that Sakura never seen before suddenly appeared out of the scroll and heading towards to Sasori's direction, and very fast. Channeling more chakra to her feet, she sprinted just in time to prevent the technique from hitting Sasori but herself. Fortunately, she had successfully blocked the attack from hitting Sasori.

Tons of kanji symbols started enveloping around the kunoichi's waist and in a second, the black words crashed down and shackled Sakura's arm and legs together, preventing her to make any movement.

Sasori stared in shock as he tried to reach out to the medic before him, but when the kanji words had fettered her, she was immediately gone in a poof.

"Damn it!" The man clutched onto the scroll that he had originally planned to use on Sasori, but the pinkette had blocked the attack and was used it on her instead.

This technique was one of his clan's secret jutsu, where they would trap the person when the jutsu was aimed it and would be sealed into the scroll, only able to summon out if the user wanted to.

However, the jutsu could only be used once, so they could not catch Sasori unless they have a second scroll. And rather unfortunate for them, they didn't know that they would acquire a second scroll for this bounty mission.

"Let's go. We'll just use her as a hostage. That man is dangerous." The leader turned to Kakuzu, his eyes scanning over him before signalling his remaining conscious comrades to take the other fainted ones and scatter.

0o0

"I'm not leaving." Sasori glared back.

"That girl is weak. Having her coming with us was the wrong choice I've made."

"She's not weak." Sasori growled, scowling unpleasantly at Kakuzu.

"Oh? And what's with the silent treatment you gave her previously? Now being protective of her? And I thought you actually disliked her."

"I won't go with you unless she comes back."

"No deal. I don't have time left to waste on you pests." Kakuzu strolled towards Sasori and was about to lift him up when the redhead was gone in a flash but he reappeared a few meters away from Kakuzu, standing towards the direction where the other bounty hunters had headed.

_He's quite fast even though he's injured._ Kakuzu noted.

"No deal either." The redhead spat back like a stubborn kid wanting candy when the parents refused to buy for their child.

Kakuzu raised an amused eyebrow, finding it rather ironic when this redhead before him was acting so indifferent towards the pinkette, yet he was actually concern about her.

Without waiting for Kakuzu's answer, Sasori started sprinting towards the way where the enemies had headed to, leaving the bounty hunter alone in the devastated clearing.

Never in his life had he ever negotiate anything with his bounty – since they were dead. But now this Sand-nin was really trying his patience, yet he couldn't kill him, since it would totally defeat the purpose in spending his precious money on the medications and the rent for the inn they were previous staying in.

_If this bounty wasn't worth that much, I might have thought that it was actually the leader trying to test my patience skills. _The Akatsuki member lightly joked with himself before scurrying ahead.

0o0

"Hey, why don't you guys untie me so I can heal you?" Sakura said merrily.

"Nice try girl, we won't fall for it. Having you chained up is much more better."

"Come on." Sakura whimpered. "You guys had me cornered now. I can't even do anything. Fleeing isn't a good idea since you had set traps around here that could easily kill me if I trigger it. I can really heal you!" She convinced.

After the leader had angrily summoned out the wrongly captured girl, they had set up a fire and decided to camp for the night and used her as a hostage when they encounter _their_ bounty the next time.

The members gave each other a questioning look before turning to Sakura. "How are you going to heal us?"

"I'm a medic." She declared.

"That's a good catch. Maybe we should keep her instead of making her a hostage." One suggested.

"We can talk about that later. Now heal this bruise to prove to us that you are of good use."

Sakura made an exaggerated struggle before looking at the man who was the one that had bound her up with that weird technique. "I can't."

"Release her." A few hunters said in unison.

As the man sighed, he made a couple of hand signs before the kanji words around Sakura slowly lifted up and was gone with a poof. She could finally breathe properly.

"May I heal each one of you privately?" She asked blandly. When the leader gave her a questioning look, she continued.

"When you guys are looking at me, I'll feel pressurized. When I feel pressurized, I will panic. When I panic, I can''t concentrate. When I can't concentrate, I will do unnecessary stuff to make myself concentrate. When I do unnecessary stuff to make myself concentrate, I will make mistakes. When I make mistakes, I will-"

"Shut up and just go already." The leader signalled one member nearest to Sakura to get healed up first.

"But girl, if you pull any tricks. He'll alert me. And when you are caught, we can always use other methods instead of using you as hostage to lure the bounty out."

"Like I said. I'm outnumbered. And I value my life. I'm only helping you people out because I am just that nice." Sakura rolled her eyes before proceeding into the bushes with another guy following cautiously behind.

"Nice?" Kakuzu snorted, slowly sat down on a thick branch and rested his head on the bark of the tree while Sasori remained squatting on one of the branches.

"She's planning something."

"Oh?" Kakuzu glanced at Sasori. "So you aren't going to act hero and save her?"

Sasori gave a withering look. He'll only _act _as one if it's necessary. "It's none of your business."

"I have to barge into this if my money is at risk."

"Is money the only thing you can think of?" Sasori hissed.

"Money is the only thing that makes the world go round." Kakuzu said casually, as if they were even in a conversation.

"Even if it were to sacrifice your loved ones?" Sasori couldn't help but asked.

"One day, these _loved ones_ will betray you. However, money wouldn't."

0o0

After a few minutes, Sakura and the hunter walked back to the group and the member sat down on his original position, all healed. Sakura stood proudly behind the patient she just took care of.

The leader looked rather impressed, becoming more interested in how Sakura magically _heal_ his comrade. He actually thought she would just tie tons of bandages all over his accomplice and claimed that she _healed _him. But no, all signs of cuts and bruise on him were completely gone. And to think that he almost laughed when Sakura proclaimed that she was one of those rare medics available in the world when she really was one.

"Actually, _leader_." Sakura said cautiously, looking over at the man who was staring in space. "I think I should heal you next since that deep gash requires more chakra. And I don't think I would have enough to heal you if you were the last."

Agreeing with her, he slowly stood up, hand covering his injury on his leg. "Very well. Everyone stay put." He spoke calmly before proceeding into the bushes along with Sakura.

"That girl is hot." One commented when the leader was no longer in sight.

"I have to agree too."

0o0

"We are getting further away from my team. How far are we going?" The leader snapped, not liking the fact that the thick bushes brushes across his injury occasionally when they were walking.

Sakura finally halt and spun around, giving him a smirk.

"Far enough for you to run back to find all your comrades dead."

"What-"

With a loud poof, the medic was no longer in sight.

"Shadow clone?" He yelled in anger before running back to the campsite.

His _comrade_ that had previously came back all healed was actually the real Sakura that had just transformed into his form while the one that asked the leader to follow her was just a shadow clone.

As the leader finally reach the campsite, all the other members had already fainted.

"What the-"

"Shanaaroo!" Sakura slammed her feet right onto the wound that the leader suffered on his knee. He gave a loud shout before receiving another punch right in the stomach, knocking him out cold in an instant.

After she had crushed the last member, she stood there with the impassive look on her face. Looking around to make sure none of them were able to stand up to fight, she turned around and headed off. However, she broke into a big grin before she could even control herself, but her smile was immediately wiped off when a figure appeared before her.

"Kakuzu." She muttered, as the said man revealed right before her. But in an instant, her face fell lax before she brightened it up again when the redhead appeared right at the moment when Kakuzu landed on the ground.

"Let's go. We have wasted enough time." The bounty hunter proclaimed, observing all of the fainted Shinobi and walked off. Both of the youngsters just followed without any argument.

0o0

"You sure you don't want to ask Sasori for help?" Sakura joked weakly, even though she knew that neither the two males were amused at all. They had been walking for about two hours and what Sakura saw everywhere was nothing but cactus and sand.

"Girl. I've roamed across the entire world and I know where I am heading better than you knowing how to breathe. Say anything and I'll kill you."

Sakura rolled her eyes, not even scared of Kakuzu's threatening words anymore. Even Sasori tried to refrain from yawning at Kakuzu's poor usage of vocabulary words.

However, the tall man before him wasn't kidding, indeed he know where he was going since every step they took, they were actually getting closer to the border.

Sakura's feet were sore and her back hurts from all the walking. Luckily they had replenished their water supplies before they began setting ahead into the desert or Sakura could have died from thirst. Although she was tired and her skin was burning, she observed that Sasori and Kakuzu were calm and collected even though the weather was killing her. She could understand for Sasori, but why did Kakuzu seem so unaffected at all?

She sighed inwardly, before looking up at the redhead again.

They had been travelling for about three days before they took a step into the desert. The trio had spent their nights in the forest and ate wild grilled animals and Sakura was always the one cooking since they say that woman belongs to the kitchen or whatever bullshit the two men were ranting about.

It was sort of an adventure camp, with Kakuzu as the instructor, Sasori the tetchy camper and Sakura being the girl that everyone bullied.

_Tch, I should have poisoned their food or something._ Sakura regretted thoroughly, lifting up her sore leg and took another step.

But what Sakura had been wondering since they left the inn three days ago was when would Sasori start his whatsoever plan he had in his secretive mind. Ever since they had crossed the Earth country border, the redhead had acted so quiet and calm. Too calm in Sakura's opinion.

He might be quiet and relaxed in all sorts of situation – except for the fever issue, that's it – Sasori was just too composed already. Two weeks ago, so much blood had been shed across the sand since Sasori was super stubborn and didn't want to return to the village no matter what.

Now the redhead seemed so willing to go back, as if he had just came back from a vacation. Sakura didn't know if Kakuzu noticed, but Sasori must have a plan in mind. As if all these while, cooperating and going willingly without fighting with Kakuzu was an act, but the real escaping plan had just started.

Not that Sakura was looking down of Sasori, but if the redhead had not obtained his puppet form, fighting Kakuzu and his other four hearts might just be the same as walking into his own grave. And with just that raw strength Kakuzu has, it already seemed hard.

Another ten minutes had passed and Sasori still hadn't taken any action, but it seemed some intruders had.

Not really intruders, since they themselves were actually the intruder.

"Who are you people?"

Ever since the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, the Wind village had begun a desperate search for the missing Kazekage, while also, finding a suitable substitute to fill in the role. With the amount of high leveled Shinobi killed when they attempted to catch Sasori, they had became very cautious about people going in and out of Suna's territory since they lacked the man power to protect their country.

But Sakura knew that they hadn't even reached the borders yet. Perhaps they had gone that far to protect their county and even took such long measures like patrolling even outside the borders.

"Isn't that Sasori-Sama?" One of the Chunin pointed at the redhead. Kakuzu slightly raised his eyebrow at the fact that they were using honorific terms to call his bounty, but this was no longer important.

Sasori cautiously stepped back and glanced at the dozen of men that came from the same village as him.

The redhead was actually planning to escape before they reach the Wind village since Sasori knew the routes around here well, and escaping from Kakuzu in the middle of the desert would be the easiest thing for him, but he never expected these groups of Shinobi spotting them so fast. Now he had lost his chance to escape.

"Tsk." Sasori clicked his tongue irritatingly. Of course, Sakura noticed.

_So is the escaping plan ruined?_ Sakura wanted to ask, but she knew that it would be the best if she just kept her mouth shut.

Just in time, both Sakura and Sasori noticed the iron fists that were directed to them as they ducked away successfully before it hit them.

"Sasori!" Sakura tried to warn the puppeteer but it was too late.

Before he could react, a thread bound around Sasori's ankle and brought him up into the air before slamming him onto the ground, hard. She couldn't tell if Sasori was in pain or not, but she was definitely sure that the wound must have reopen again.

"No!" Sakura yelled. But what she did not expect was the other man who she had been travelling with had knocked her out too.

0o0

"So it seemed we had finally get Sasori back."

"But who is that girl that was exchanged with 5 million ryo? You all should know that we are dangerously low in fund."

We had received information that this girl might be a threat to others as well. Keeping her would be the safest thing to do."

A few Sand-nin had rushed over for backup for the last team that Sasori had encountered. In fact, there was actually a ninja who_ seemed_ to be dead, but was actually still clinging tightly for his life.

"_S-Sasori-sama had l-left." The man spluttered out more blood as he weakly pointed at the direction where Sakura and Sasori had headed half an hour ago._

"_A girl f-from K-Konohagakure w-with p-pink hair… She l-left with S-Sasori…" And just like that, his arm fell back to his side, finally dead._

When Kakuzu sent Sasori back to Sunagakure with Sakura unconscious, it would be natural to dispose the pinkette since she was not needed anymore. But when the counselors noticed Sakura, they knew the one that worked with Sasori to _kill_ so many of their men was her. How many girls had they ever came across having pink hair?

Currently, the counselors were still debating whether they should either execute him for killing such a huge number of talented ninja in Sunagakure or actually continued to let the traitor live and becoming the next Kazekage.

"Since we got him back which such a huge amount of money, I don't see why we should kill him. Do you people even remember what were we intending to do when we manage to get him back with the amount of sacrifice we made for the number of lives lost?"

"But he's too dangerous, what if he betrays us and kill everyone?"

As Ebizo glanced across the room to find the chair that was supposed to be seated by his sister empty, he gave a soft sigh before continuing the discussion.

0o0

Sakura grimaced unpleasantly, immediately feeling a very sharp pain in her head.

As the pinkette slowly moved in her upright position, she reached out to her head to rub her temple, only to realize that both of her wrist were chained up and a piece of paper that was filled with familiar writing stuck on the chain, which Sakura guessed it was some sort of seal. Her legs were tied together too, along with the same seal stick onto the chains

"Sasori?" She jerked up, glancing around panicky to find the redhead sitting at the other side of the small cell. Both of his hand ended up being secured up just like Sakura. He seemed to be awake as both of his dull, mahogany colored eyes were staring at the small window.

In her entire life, she had never been to a prison—to be more specific—being thrown into a prison.

So after Kakuzu had knocked them out, they had thrown them into a small and suffocating cell and got them cuffed and even sealed them to prevent them from using any chakra to break free.

But what Sakura couldn't understand was, why on earth was she locked up and getting the same treatment as Sasori had?

Even after the long silence when Sasori hadn't reply, Sakura turned to see what Sasori was looking at. It was just the cell window that was high up and near the ceiling. They must have been unconscious for an hour or so since it was still late afternoon. Unless they have actually been knocked out for one whole day? No, it isn't possible. Although she didn't want to admit, Kakuzu actually didn't use so much force to knock both of them out compared to the hunters that were targeting the Sand-nin three days ago.

She didn't know for Sasori, but her two pouches that were suppose to keep her first aid kit, kunais, shurikens, some bomb tags and her other weapons were gone.

Sakura squinted her eyes and tried to look over the redhead to see if he had any injuries while trying to shift herself towards him. When she had finally moved from the end to the middle of the cell, she was rather satisfied since getting even more closer to Sasori didn't do any good, and trying to move with these heavy chains was rather exhausting.

"Are you alright?" Sakura scanned over his body to find any injuries but there was none. But a large blotch of red stain was found on his new shirt near his abdomen area — Kakuzu had kindly bought it for him since his old one was tattered and soaked in blood.

"Did your wound reopen?" Sakura stared horrified, moving more closer to him. That was when she realized that Sasori's face was rather pale.

"Kakuzu had taken care of it before he dumped us here. I won't die because of this."

"He did what?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. She wasn't shocked that Kakuzu had thrown them into this cell, but she was surprised because the Akatsuki member had bothered to close up the wound for Sasori.

Sasori slowly pulled up his clothes with both of his hands that were tied up together in front of him and show bloodied wound sewed up neatly, although Sakura was positive that further treatment for the redhead would be better, but the medic couldn't even do anything now. Her hand were chained and sealed so there was no way she could even channel any chakra to her fist to heal, or break any walls.

As he unrolled his shirt, he slumped both of his hand on his legs and looked away from the medic who was sitting just a meter away from him.

"I was wondering about this for quite some time..." Sakura started fiddling with the hand chains, looking up to see Sasori and his impassive expression.

"I don't understand. Why do you hate the Wind village so much?" She questioned, watching Sasori carefully and making sure that she would try her best not to trigger any sort of argument between the two of them. "I mean, wouldn't it be better to return here?"

He flashed her a cold look and continued staring at her with both of his intimidating eyes. Sakura wanted to tear her gaze from him, but she remained strong and forced herself not to even blink at all.

Knowing that the stubborn girl would just be wasting his time for such a nonsensical game like a staring contest, Sasori turned back and gazed at the corner of the prison room and the silence ensued once again. Sakura remained glaring at the redhead, refusing to turn or look away. But she did blink once in a while when her eyes were too tired.

Waiting as patiently as she could, a small pout began forming at her lips. The medic hated being ignored like that, but she knew that it would be pointless to ask again if the redhead didn't want to answer.

Only after a minute, he finally spoke.

"Do you have a place where you wish to never been there again? The place where it held the memories which you wanted to forget?"

Sakura stopped playing with the chains, her thoughts began trailing back where both Sasuke and herself were near the entrance of the village's gate. That place where she confessed her love to him yet he knocked her out cold after saying a "Thank you for everything"

She always hated taking that path to go or come back from missions. It always tears her heart into bits and pieces when she remembered the confession she let out could not make Sasuke stay at all. Even when she volunteered joining him, she knew that deep inside, Sasuke didn't need a weak girl like her.

"I want to leave that place, and to become stronger without having any burden from feelings and memories." He drawled before looking back at her.

These feelings and loneliness that Sasori held in his heart caused him so much pain that he couldn't withstand it anymore. And only abandoning them could make him stronger.

However for Sakura…

Those words that Sasuke left for her made her stronger, the memories she had with Sasuke made her wanting him back again made her stronger. She yearned for these memories, but Sasori's different.

His parents were killed. And no matter how many times he remembers those memories he had with his parents in the Wind village, they would never come back. So what's the point in clinging so tightly to the memories? Why don't just let those memories go and become stronger, so that one-day the pain could also be forgotten?

Sakura truly never expected Sasori to reply or even respond like that. She was actually preparing a little script in her mind, convincing him that Sunagakure isn't such a bad place and returning back there isn't such a bad idea too.

But this gave her a shock.

She had completely no idea what to say. Comforts? Apologize? No, the words that escaped from Sasori's mouth left her hanging for completely five minutes and there was nothing but silence that filled in the cell.

After a few minutes, Sakura could hear some prison warden talking and the sound of the locks unlocking could be heard. Sakura stared patiently at the cell door, wondering who could have been visiting them while Sasori just remained staring in space, seeming like he already knew who was it.

An old lady slowly stepped into the cell after talking quietly to the wardens and closed the door behind her. Sakura gasped, she couldn't feel any more happier when she stared at the old lady before her, very healthy and alive. She wanted to call out to her and hug her, but she had to control her emotions, if not Sasori could easily notice that something's wrong.

The female puppeteer watched Sasori from the door, but he just shifted his position and let his back faced the poor old lady. Sakura wanted to reprimand him so much, but she bit her lips, knowing that it would be totally unnecessary.

"Girl, may I know your name?" The woman who was also one of the Suna's counselors watched Sakura and her ebony-colored eyes softened. The old lady appeared to have lesser wrinkles than what Sakura had seen her in the future. But no matter how much she wished to hug the lady and cried out to her, she still quietly remained in her position and replied with a polite tone, which she always used to people that she respected.

"Haruno Sakura."

"Cherry Blossom. Ah… a nice name indeed." She nodded to herself as the aging lady gave a small smile.

"My name is Chiyo."

0o0

Kakuzu scowled, carrying onto the large case that was filled with money he loved.

He wasn't scowling because of how heavy the case was, or how hot the weather was. But this was the third time he actually mindlessly stopped and turned to order his two young companions to hurry their pace when he remembered that he had exchanged them for money.

Even though Sakura wasn't in the bounty list, Sunagakure gave 5 million ryo in exchange for the pinkette too, which he was actually _pleased_. It's just like killing two birds with one stone. He was able to get more money, and also get rid of the brat without having to decide what to do with her.

Although he didn't understand what was going on with him, he silently admitted that during the three days of travelling with the other two, he didn't wake up and thought only about money, but also the safety of these two little pest as well.

Ever since his fourth partner had been killed because of his uncontrollable temper, the leader was still trying to find someone who could actually survive his attacks and be his partner for at least a week or longer. So all Kakuzu do everyday was to loaf around and see if there was any unlucky bounty that crossed his path since the Akatsuki member hadn't receive any information about the whereabouts for his new accomplice.

Perhaps when he was _travelling_ with that pinkette and redhead, he actually created a sort of stupid bond with them, kind of like a grandfather watching his grandkids by his side.

He shuddered inwardly. Seriously? Grandfather and grandchildren? Worst example he could think of in his whole life.

This was actually the first time when he could retain his temper and not flare up in front of the benign rosette and the grumpy redhead.

Truthfully, he was expecting some romance between them, not that he was an expert at this, he could actually remembered the times with his dead fiancée when he observed Sasori and Sakura together.

His grip onto his suitcase became tighter as he stopped in his track, the sand beneath his feet slowly sunk in due to his weight. Kakuzu slowly turned and walked back to Sunagakure in his leisure pace.

Maybe he could have some fun before he got his fifth partner or something.


	6. Fleeting!

**Lost Year**

Fleeting!

Be thankful for the bad things in life;  
>for they open eyes to good things that you weren't paying attention before.<p>

The silence ensued once again and Chiyo looked away from Sakura to gaze at the redhead a few meters away from her. She took a step closer, and another. Chiyo seemed to know her grandson's discomfort so she made sure there was some distant between them.

"The village needs you." Chiyo started.

"The fact when I had killed hundred of people just to get away from the village should be able t prove how much I don't want to come back." He argued back.

"I know that. But would you want to run around being classified as a missing-nin or be the fourth Kazekage and serve the country?"

_K-Kazekage?'_ Sakura gasped inwardly, staring at Sasori with both of her emerald eyes wide open.

"Just leave me alone." He glared at the hard and dusty floor, speaking just like a stubborn child.

Sakura gritted her teeth. She wanted to punch the redhead so much right that instant. Her jaw remained clenched and her glare intensified to a whole new level. How she wished she could actually glare Sasori to death or something.

Wait. No, she couldn't let him die…

"Sasori…" Chiyo muttered softly, deciding to take a step forward when suddenly, a small crack started to form on the brick walls. Then, another soft pound was heard at the other side of the wall, forming an even larger crack.

A couple of attendants were alerted to the noise and trudged into the cell with their weapons ready. They scurried to Chiyo's side and took their stance, prepared to strike anytime.

"What strength… This is actually the most secure cell that no one managed to break it down before." One warden commented, knowing that the person that they were going to face should be a superior Shinobi to be capable to smash down their infamous prison cell wall.

The cell vibrated a little due to the impact and bits of dry paint and cement started falling off from the ceiling, dropping like snowflakes and onto their head and the floor.

With another strike, the wall was shattered into bits and pieces. Bricks and rocks scattered through the room along with the smoke and dust that started clouding the room due to the strong impact.

The dust and smoke spread through the cell, making Sakura and a few other surprised prison caretaker to cough due to the amount of dust in the room.

"Emergency Code Red!" A warden started yelling out of the cell and loud, continuous sounds of boots started stampeding towards the direction of their prison chamber.

"Why did you come back?" Sasori sneered, observing the tall man before him.

"Take you back. What else?" Kakuzu used the hand that wasn't holding onto the case filled with money, grabbing Sasori by the waist and slumped the redhead's stomach onto the bounty hunter's other shoulder, earning Sasori a sharp pain in his abdomen. He didn't attempt to oppose or fight back since it would be pointless, and he's sort of depleted from chakra at the moment.

"Lady Chiyo!" Sakura forced herself to get on her feet even though her leg muscles were aching. She managed to earn the elder's attention as the pinkette finally succeeded in standing up and hopped closer to Sasori's grandmother even with her two foot tied up together. Chiyo watched Sakura quietly, slightly puzzled at why this pinkette seemed so worried over her.

As Sakura sensed Kakuzu's chakra signature coming closer and closer to her, she took the chance to speak before it would be too late.

"Don't worry. The next time Sasori comes back, he'll be coming back willingly." Sakura afforded a smile, although she knew Chiyo wouldn't understand why was she saying this.

The elder blinked, before she could even speak, a rough grip clutched onto Sakura's waist and pulled her back, letting the girl yelped in surprise. Chiyo was about to use her chakra strings to pull Sakura back, but she couldn't see the pinkette or the capturer through the thick smoke and dust.

After the fumes scattered, a dozen of prison wardens came dashing in, surrounding Chiyo and had their back facing her, trying to protect the elder when in fact, the prisoners and the bounty hunter who had changed his captive for money were already gone.

0o0

"I don't understand. Throwing us into prisons to save us again. You are really that free aren't you?" Sakura shook her sore hands after Kakuzu had cut the chain off by using his ironed fist.

"I should have left you there. Seriously. Other than complaining, do you have something you are good at?" Kakuzu scoffed, throwing the heavy metal cuffs onto the soft sand.

Not knowing what Kakuzu said had reminded her, but she suddenly went to felt her back to confirm that her pouches weren't with her. "My weapons…" Sakura pouted before turning to Sasori, hoping that Sasori was in the same plight as her.

"Were your puppets confiscated?" Sakura turned to the redhead who was massaging his wrist.

"I knew that the time would come so I had sent my scrolls to one of my spies, letting him to take care of it. I'll summon them back later." He said casually.

"You have spies?" That's what Sakura intended to say, acting shock for bonus points. But she knew her acting's skills were horrible so she's just going to pretend she never heard anything related to _his spies_. All she said was "When did you even managed to do that?" The medic frowned along, very sure that he couldn't have done it in the cell.

"After the fight between the bounty hunters. News travel fast so I'm positive that no one will attack us if Kakuzu's around." Sasori drawled, as if mocking Sakura that she didn't thought of it.

_He had given so much thought about hiding his weapons..._ Sakura pondered, although still sulking at the fact that she had lost her weapons while Sasori had his kept it safely hidden.

"I don't care." Sakura turned to Kakuzu who was standing mindlessly beside her. "You're going to use the money you exchanged us for to buy me weapons." The pinkette growled, pointing at the silver case Kakuzu was holding.

"No. It's your fault for losing something that is so important to a Shinobi."

"Hello? How is this my fault?"

"We're heading to Konohagakure. Does that satisfy you?"

_Konoha?_ Sakura was certainly caught of surprise.

"Why are we following you anyway?" Sasori scoffed, his face showed his unpleasantness. Inwardly, he was glad that Kakuzu had saved them from the cell, but he didn't like it when he had to owe Kakuzu a favor even when the masked man didn't say he needed to repay to him or something.

"Because you are part of the Akatsuki." Kakuzu said calmly. He'll think of a better idea in telling the leader the truth next time. For now, he had to keep Sasori and the other bratty companion by his side. Having them wandering around to get themselves killed or captured as bounty again wouldn't be a good idea.

"I never said I'm joining in the first place."

"There isn't an option in wanting to join or not."

First, he's claimed that he didn't have the intention to force the redhead to enter the organization, now he's practically making him follow him everywhere because he's _part_ of it?

Sasori wanted to reason out with Kakuzu some more but Sakura interrupted, rather impatiently since she was actually waiting for both men's argument to be over. "Why are we heading to Konoha?" She bit her lips, noticing the unpleasant scowl that Sasori directed to Kakuzu and the innocent pinkette.

"I have business to settle."

"Since we are_ companions_…" Sakura couldn't hide the sarcastic tone she gave as she continued. "We should unite as a team and work together. So allowing the other members to know what you are up to would be something logical to do."

Both Sasori and Kakuzu snort in unison, which gave Sakura a sense of Déjà vu feeling. It was just like her trying to soother both of her teammates down when they were quarrelling or fighting in a mission.

"We are nearing the fire country, it would be natural to head to Konoha instead. Restocking goods would be _logical_, especially for a girl who doesn't have anything to protect herself. And bounty hunting would be a fine idea since there's a lot of good catch there."

She didn't know whether to thank Kakuzu for sparing a thought for her or be furious with him for hurting one of her people. But she wasn't a missing-nin or someone who hated her country so it wouldn't be wrong to be angry, would it?

0o0

"I won't be a surprise if you had the same thought as mine."

Sasori stared at Kakuzu for a second, eyeing him carefully before looking at the pinkette before them.

"I guess so." Sasori muttered.

"She claimed that she's from Konoha, didn't she?"

"I have seen her headband before. But it was gone along with her weaponry stuffs when we were captured."

"If that is so. Why does no one here even give her a second glance?" Kakuzu spoke, seeming to challenge Sasori's intelligence. "I'm pretty sure her pink hair would attract a lot of people's attention. And they did. But no one here even acknowledge her existence even after her pink hair had drawn so much attention."

As they slowly descend down the busy street, Sakura was ahead of them, wandering merrily around the different stalls she encountered with every step she took. But she had halted in her track for about five minutes to stare at the Hokage's monument that were craved on the cliff.

Sasori narrowed his eyes, looking at the pinkette who was still staring at the sculpture at the top of the cliff in awe as though she was seeing them for the first time.

Kakuzu didn't even need to say anything; the tall man already knew that both of them had set on their suspicion on the Konoha-nin before them.

Sakura started walking again, only to realize that her favorite food store existed even 16 years ago. She broke into a huge grin before turning around excitedly to her other two companions and pointed into the shop.

"Could we settle in there for a while?"

0o0

After Sakura assured that she would be paying for the food, Kakuzu finally gave in and decided that taking a break from the long journey wouldn't be so bad. As they found a place to settle down, a waiter came to take their order before proceeding to prepare their food.

For the next three minutes, Sakura just couldn't keep her butt stuck onto her seat properly. She kept shifting her position and rocking her chair back and forth happily while whistling to some random tune she didn't know where she heard from before.

Sasori was about to snap at her about how annoying it was when the waiter finally served the food to their table and Sakura was the first to grab onto the chopstick that was available from the holder, snapping it into two before she started eating.

"I miss these!" She shrilled with happiness before gobbling down more.

Sasori just watched Kakuzu who was not moving to take any food to eat, although the redhead wished he would start eating so he could see what on earth was he hiding behind that mask of his.

"Who are you?" Kakuzu couldn't hold back how tempting it was to ask her the question ever since they had went into the food shop. He had pondered on this possibility before; maybe this pinkette isn't _Sakura_, but some sort of secret spy that's worth billions of dollars for her head.

"Have you knocked your head or something?" She raised an amused eyebrow, putting a spoon of jelly into her mouth.

Sasori turned his attention towards Sakura, trying to make everything seemed clearer when it didn't. "You aren't from Konoha."

"What?" Sakura looked bewildered. She had been accused of being a hooker in a bar during a mission, being called as an old hag when she was actually still a teenager, but this surely went too overboard. She's from Konoha! How could he just plainly say that she wasn't when she was so proud of being a citizen in the fire country?

"From the look at it, you don't seem to know that the bookstore was located beside the pharmacy shop. You were like in daze when you were staring at the stationary shop, and then you said to yourself about there was supposed to be a playground you used to play with your friends." Sasori rested his chin on the palm of his hand, elbow on the table as support.

"Did I spoke that loud?" Sakura muttered, putting down the spoon.

"This loud." Kakuzu pointed out for the current situation as an example.

Sakura picked up the spoon again while taking the cup of yogurt and placed it in front of her. "I was just saying nonsense. This is my home."

"Home? Where is it?" Sasori challenged.

Sakura shot him a threateningly look, continuing her food afterwards. "I don't have to tell you. And I don't plan to return anyway." Sakura scooped the yogurt and stuck it into her mouth.

"It's not because you don't plan to return." Kakuzu paused, continuing smoothing.

"It's because you don't have one."

"Fine, I'll say! If that finally satisfied you two." Sakura glared at the bounty hunter, slamming the metal utensil onto the table and set both of her hands on her lap. She gave a glance at Sasori before diverting her gave to other customers who she wished she might recognize. But even if she did, none of them possibly knew her at all.

"Yes, I don't have a home right now because..." Sakura sighed, decided that she should just admit the truth.

"I-I came from the future."

After Sakura had spoken, both man momentarily paused and never moved a single inch. As the seconds ticked by, Sakura's grip on her cloth was getting tighter and tighter that she swore that it might tear any second.

"Future." Kakuzu said in a deadpanned tone. Three seconds in between then Sasori spoke up too.

"Future." The redhead mimicked the exact same tone and expression given by Kakuzu.

"I've told you the truth." Sakura glowered, not liking that obvious look on their face that shows that they didn't believe her a single word she said.

"Alright. Prove it to me." Sasori narrowed his eyes. "Tell me something that might determined that you are from the future like you said."

"I didn't know Hiruko and your name through the Bingo book, I knew it because the one and only puppeteer I fought is you." She said confidently.

Sasori didn't interrupted, so Sakura took it as an indication for her to continue.

"You have the Third Kazekage as one of your human puppets." She glanced for reaction, and it seemed she got what she wanted. "Your parents were killed by Hatake Sakumo, a Shinobi from Konoha." Sakura gulped, noticing how still Sasori had become when she talked about the human puppets to his dead parents.

Sakura's not going to mention about him turning himself into a puppet. She didn't even want him to even think that such a thing existed and maybe managed to fulfill his wish in forgetting the loneliness and pain felt all these years. Maybe all these while when Sakura didn't barged into Sasori's past and interrupted his life, the redhead could have already planned to make himself into a puppet.

"You said we fought. So I've summoned out the Third Kazekage during the battle, is that so?" Sasori asked, seeming to ignore about the issue of his dead parents.

"Y-Yes." Sakura confirmed.

"Who won?"

"A-actually, Lady Chiyo was in the battle, with me against you. And it's not actually a finished battle." Sakura paused, playing with the hem of her skirt, not knowing how to continue. But the silence between them forced her to anyway.

"You were stabbed in the chest with Lady Chiyo controlled the Mother and Father puppet."

In his heart, that was all enough to be said. The brat also unknowingly knew about the Third Kazekage puppet, which only the dead Kazekage himself, Orochimaru and Sasori know about its existence. And to add that Sakura was also well-informed about the very first two puppets he made; the puppets that were made of a replica of his parents. It couldn't have been the bingo book that told her that.

So he'd died in the battle, which meant he lost. And to prove that this kunoichi before him was impressive enough to make him produce his favorite human puppet into the battle, which also proved that the fight between them wasn't just a game.

This silence now was rather different than the one before Sakura admitted how Sasori was killed, it sorts of let Sakura calmed down a little since it somehow — she didn't know why either — made Sakura think that Sasori finally trusted her for once.

Kakuzu eyed the redhead who was still staring at Sakura before turning to her. "All those words might prove something to him, but not for me." He drawled.

Sakura turned to face the Waterfall-nin. After debating with herself in her mind for a couple of seconds, she finally said it. "Your village sent you to assassinate the first Hokage." Sakura broke down into a whisper, hoping that no one could hear her.

Sasori raised an eyebrow, turning to stare at Kakuzu who was watching Sakura silently.

_How old is this guy._ Sasori pondered.

"But the mission failed, the village didn't acknowledge your loyalty to the village and deserted you even when you risked you life for them."

Just by speaking about it made Kakuzu raged. But he slowly soothed his temper — which was actually the very first time he tried — and it worked. He took in two deep breaths, scanning behind his shoulder to see if anyone was snooping around before looking back at Sakura.

The things that she just claimed were very true, and it's impossible for a mere girl like her to know something like this. The elders in his village who knew about this were longed killed to complete the technique he stolen from the village just to infuriate them. So no one other than himself or the first Hokage knew about this.

"How the hell do you know of this?"

"Before you died in the battle, you claimed it yourself." Sakura spoke. "I wasn't there to witness it, but my friends and sensei who were battling you told the fifth Hokage about it. I wasn't suppose to leak out personal information we acquired, but that is the only thing I know about you…" Sakura picked up the spoon calmly, sinking the cold ladle into the melting yogurt, "…so I have no choice but to say this to prove that I indeed came from the future, that's why I could actually receive so much information's, even Akatsuki."

Sasori glanced at Sakura for a while, wanting to mention about the Orochimaru incident but something kept him from speaking. An image of her on the hospital bed being depressed and upset flashed across his mind. He bit his tongue before lying his back on the chair calmly, thinking he'll only speak about that matter when he got the time.

"How much do you know?" Kakuzu spoke in suspicion.

_It wouldn't be a harm to tell them, would it?_ "You guys worked in pairs, to hunt for Bijuus." Sakura pushed the finished cup away from her and took the one with a couple of colorful jelly on top. Kakuzu glanced away

"You said I died, so I presumed we've crossed path?" He asked out of the blue.

"Yes." Sakura swiftly said. "You died in the hands of my other friends for killing their sensei and exchanging him for money."

"Oh?" Kakuzu spoke, tone tainted with boredom, not very reactive to what the pinkette had told him in Sakura's opinion. "Couple of kids actually managed to kill me?" He paused, adding swiftly behind.

"Why don't I kill their parents before they were born? It kind of solves the problem, doesn't it?"

Sakura stared in horror at the masked man, the metal spoon in her hand slight bent due to the force she was acting on it. "I won't allow you."

"Hn. Even though I never had a time where I hesitated to kill anyone, I wouldn't go that low to do that. It just proved that I'm weak, scared and a coward for not wanting to face the truth." He scoffed, continuing his speech.

"So if that's the case, I would just have to make sure I kill them during the battle in the future without wasting time and talking about my past or whatever crap it is. And if they were so talented to even manage to lay a finger on me, I'm curious to know how they even do it." Kakuzu assured.

Sakura didn't know she should be relieved or not. He had indirectly promised her that he wouldn't kill anyone, but she could never be too sure. However, she never even mentioned any of her friends' names at all, so they should still be safe. Sakura inwardly sighed, thinking that she might have endangered her friend's life.

"So, is pink hair a sort of trend in Konoha 16 years later?" Kakuzu casually questioned.

"This is natural!" Sakura gritted her teeth, frustrated. Now she's stuck in the middle, not knowing whether should she be relieved that Kakuzu seemed to have believed her to ask her that question or to be furious at him for teasing her like that.

"What kind of jutsu or mishap happened during a battle brought you here?" Sasori finally took a chopstick, snapping it into two before jabbing it into his food, looking at Sakura with mild interest.

"It's not a jutsu or any mistake in a battle that end me up here. It's a mission." Sakura blurted out, knowing that it was too late to take them back.

"Mission?" The two men said in unison.

"Yes." Her voice went low. "Once I complete it, I can go back."

"What is it?" Sasori asked out of curiosity.

"C-Changing the future." Sakura mumbled, a small blush tinted on her cheek.

"How messed up is the future? To actually sent you back to the past just to change it." Kakuzu wondered out loud.

Sakura bit her lips, not knowing what to say.

"Who actually sent you for this mission? I never knew there's such time-travel jutsu that existed; even in the future." Sasori inquired.

_What should I say now?_ Sakura yelled in her mind, trying to get her wish-maker in her mind to help her and think of an idea, but there was no response.

"It's forbidden to tell." Sakura tried her best to remain as composed as possible. "This mission's actually top secret, and the person who created the jutsu too."

"So you have to do something to trigger the change, then you'll return?" The bounty hunter confirmed.

Sakura glanced tentatively at Sasori, when their eyes met, she swiftly looked away into another direction and answered a solid "Yes," to Kakuzu.

"Since I've fought you. That means I'm part of Akatsuki, aren't I?" Sasori inquired after Sakura had answered the Waterfall-nin.

Sakura blinked at the sudden question, although she unwillingly nodded since it was true. The main reason why she was here was to stop him from joining, but what could she do now?

"You mentioned working in pairs. So who's my partner?" Finding their conversation getting more interesting as every second ticked by.

Sakura thought back. She believed the blonde guy was referred to Deidara when Sasori was arguing with…

"A blonde guy from Iwagakure. Deidara. That's his name." Sakura rubbed her chin. "You two were arguing about art, completely ignoring us when we were standing before you, prepared to battle."

"Art?" Sasori made a face. "What is there to argue about art when art is definitely eternal beauty?" Sasori sat up straight. Sakura couldn't help but started chortling behind the back of her hand as he gave an ominous frown that Sakura found it cute.

"Fleeting. Art should be transient and fleeting." She finally recalled back and added a small laugh when Sasori watched her in disdain.

Slightly amused and curious too, Kakuzu questioned Sakura the same thing Sasori had asked her previously.

"He..." Sakura became serious, knowing him as the man who made Kurenai's child fatherless. "His name's Hidan and he's from Yugakure. This guys is immortal and I heard that he…"

0o0

Kakuzu departed once again, knowing that it's time to inform the leader about the _new information_ he received regarding Sasori. But before Sakura could ask where he was going, he had already fled the scene, leaving Sakura in charge of the bill.

However, before he had went to do his things, the masked man had assigned Sasori to tell Sakura to find an inn together and the two of them did found a decent inn not far from the Hokage tower. Sakura remembered that this exact spot where the inn was located was actually Sai's favorite bookstore, where he would always come here to read books.

Before Sasori walked in, Sakura stopped him by tugging onto his arm softly. "I'm going to clear my head for a while." Sakura spoke, putting down her arm when Sasori had turned to look at her.

"Don't hide your chakra signature. We can easily find you if something happens." He suggested.

Sakura nodded in response before heading off as she immediately disappeared into the crowd.

0o0

"Is it this room? Sasori, open the freaking door!"

There was a muffled continuous sound of knocking outside the room Sasori was peacefully resting in.

"Who the hell are you? Get out!"

"Wrong room? Sorry!" A loud piercing shriek echoed down the corridor, and the process continued until the sound of Sakura's knocking on the door and the tenants' shouting were louder and seemed to be more closer to the room which Sasori was in. He already heard Sakura's voice getting closer and closer, yet he didn't bother to calm the situation by making Sakura go back to their room. Instead, he just sat on the floor, continuing to work on his puppet.

"Miss. Please stop making a ruckus. Where is your room?"

"I don't know too!" Sakura wailed loudly.

In annoyance, Sasori reluctantly stood up from the ground, walking away from his puppet and towards the door before swinging it open, revealing a blur pinkette blabbering to the housekeeper.

"Eh? It's Sasori! The evil man!" Sakura cheered, running towards the redhead and jumped onto him, giving him a tight hug. "I miss you! I thought I was lost and everyone is so mean to me!" After knowing that Sakura would not disturb her other customers, the innkeeper went back to the counter.

"Sakura. You're drunk." Sasori sniffed at the heavy smell of liquor and stared at the reddish blush on Sakura's cheek.

"How smart of you! How did cha' know?" Sakura grinned, tightly embracing him again.

Sasori growled, trying to pry her away while he close the door from letting the other busybodies continued staring at them.

"Hehehe it was so fun just now!" Sakura pretended to swing a bottle of beer and gulped the content when she was just sucking air. "Everyone was like, DANCE DANCE!" Sakura started snickering out loud.

Sasori dragged the girl who was still in his arm to the bed, but Sakura stopped in her track, grabbing onto Sasori's firm jaw with both of her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"Why don't you kill me? " Sakura gave a big grin. "If you kill me, everything could end. You won't have to die in the future. You won't have to encounter me. Perhaps, this is the trigger to the change." Sakura chuckled lightly.

"If I were to kill you, it just proved like what Kakuzu had said. Why should I be afraid of death when this is something that every Shinobi encounter every single day?" Sasori muttered, still staring at the half conscious girl right in front of him. He knew if he continues talking, it's the exact same thing as speaking to a stone, but he still continued anyway.

"Supposing someone like you was powerful enough to be part of the reason why I was defeated, I would love to know how the process is. And maybe it wouldn't turn out the same anymore. I'm still alive and well here, I still have every chance to win you on that very day we battle in the future."

Sakura hiccupped, tilting her head to another side as if that would make her vision much more clearer. She still had that cocky smile plastered on her face.

"I knew Sasori-kun would say like that!" Her smile still not wiped off from her face. "It was a scary battle between me and chu! But it taught me a lot of things like perseverance and courage when you almost managed to kill me with the cloud of poison gas you sprayed towards me!"

Sasori sighed, trying to tear the tight clasp around his neck. "Whatever you say. But can you let go?" Sasori grasped onto Sakura's wrist and finally pulled her away successfully after the third attempt when they were talking.

The redhead brought her to the bed while she was singing some random songs at the top of her voice. He wondered how much had she drank to make herself so drunk.

But what he had answered her questions about why he didn't want kill her puzzled him. He had never even thought about killing that pinkette even when Kakuzu suggested that he was going to kill her friends' parents just to stop him from dying in the battle, yet he could actually answer her right after those questions escaped from her lips.

Sasori tried to gently lay her onto the soft mattress but Sakura had flopped onto the bed exhausted herself and soon she cuddled herself and slept.

Currently Namikaze Minato's the Hokage of Konoha. She really wanted to go and see what did he look like since all she knew about the blonde was from portraits and the monument, although both of these sculptures and status kind of remind Sakura of Naruto.

"Naruto…" Sakura mumbled.

The redhead who had already settled back into his position and went back working on his puppet turned back to look at Sakura. Sasori heard her calling out something, which Sasori guessed that it was a person's name since the pinkette's facial expression was actually a small smile.

A few hours ago, the very first thing she did after she had told Sasori she's going out for a walk was passing by the Ichiraku stall. She would always see Naruto at the Ramen booth no matter when she went there, and then piles and piles of empty bowl would be stacked next to the blonde who was still slurping down his soup.

_"Sakura, wanna join me for ramen?" _

He would then give his signature foxy grin whenever he spotted her standing outside the stall. Sakura would often decline his offer as she had to run some errands for Tsunade, but she always hang out with him at the Ramen stand when she was free and had nothing to do.

Sakura missed her best friend, she missed the times when she would always reprimand him or punch him in the head when he do nasty stuff like doing a sexy technique.

"_Sakura. You did great!"_

"Tsunade-sama... Shizune-san..."

Sasori's chocolate-brown eyes were still staring at Sakura even after a long pause after she had muttered Naruto's name. He was captivated and contented by the soft smile he had never seen her gave to anyone around her before. But after she had said the two names with honorific terms behind, her expression changed to one that Sasori found it familiar when she smiled at Chiyo; like a form of respect and admiration. Her brows were raised and her lips turned to a huge smirk, looking prouder and regards.

Tsunade was just like her second mother, Sakura held so much respect in her that she sometimes unintentionally called Tsunade as her mother. Shizune was just like her sister too, always looking out for her and helping her whenever she's in need. Sakura missed them; she missed the warm embrace she got from Tsunade and Shizune, and it always reminds her that she wasn't alone. She had a teacher who treated her like her own daughter, she also had a senior who treated her just like her own sister too.

She missed them so much…

"_Friends, till the end."_

Sakura passed by the florist store to find Ino's mother attending to it. Sakura just watched the Yamanaka watering some flowers from her watering cans from afar, and immediately reminding her of her childhood friend Ino, who was always in the shop, doing the exact same thing her mother did with that warm and bubbly smile of hers.

"Ino…"

Her expression now changed from respect to relief, as though she had let out all her exhaustion at once. She seemed so peaceful suddenly, and Sasori couldn't help but wonder what dream was Sakura actually dreaming of now.

That day where everyone mocked her for her huge forehead, and only Ino stood up for her and broke down the wall that Sakura was always hiding behind, shutting everyone away from her. Despite the fact that they often fight over Sasuke and their relationship started to drop, they managed to get back together again. This time, she would not allow such matter like fighting for their crush to ruin their friendship, she had learnt, and she's going to treasure everything around her before it's too late.

"_You're annoying."_

"Sasuke…"

Sasori could have almost missed out the hurt look that Sakura gave in her sleep. Sakura was grabbing so tightly onto the bed sheets till her knuckles turned white.

No memories.

She couldn't find any happy ones, those that were even worth remembering.

But she could clearly recollect some sad ones.

_No…_

"_Thank you for everything."_

_I don't want to hear that anymore…_

_Forget him… Forget him…_

_Think…_

_Think of someone who can make you happy…_

_Someone who can make you forget the pain you suffered…_

_Perhaps he can save you…_

_Just like how you are saving from his nightmare too…_

"S-Sasori…"

The said man blinked slowly. When he stared at the pinkette on the bed, she was just snoring softly in her sleep. No facial expression, no sleep-talking, absolutely nothing.

_It must be my imagination._ Sasori spoke, not knowing that his brows were furrowed in disappointment.

A whole ten minutes had passed as Sakura had stopped her sleep-talking already and Sasori had started to focus on fixing his puppet damages that were caused by Orochimaru. Perhaps that's the reason why he didn't hear the creaking sound of the bed and the soft footstep behind him.

"Let's go for an adventure!" Sakura pulled Sasori up with just a little strength and he was already lifted up.

"What are you-" Sasori sprang up from his seat and walked with Sakura towards the door. The redhead pulled back with force and managed to slip out from Sakura's harsh grip, but he stumbled back and almost crush onto his wooden puppet if he had taken another two steps back.

His shocked reaction almost made Sakura laughed out loud even though she was already spinning around and cackling like a mad woman. She only stopped when she noticed Sasori still staring at her with a sort of troubled expression; not knowing what to do with this drunken idiot.

"Sasori-kun! If you don't want to go on an adventure…" Sakura slowly ambled her way towards Sasori as if he was her prey. Her eye glimmering with mischief and both of her hands were at her back, her mouth turned into a soft smile; just like how a pedophile watched the terrified children before him.

The puppeteer narrowed his eyes, not liking how haunted Sakura looked when she was creeping towards him like that, although the room was quite dark since Sasori didn't switch on the lights when the sun set, the sparkling emerald eyes that was shining in the chamber was immediately identified as sinister-looking in Sasori's opinion. He carefully took his position, preparing himself if Sakura made any crazy move like throwing herself onto hi-

"Be my bolster!" Sakura screeched, lunging herself onto the redhead, seeming to trust him that he would make sure she wouldn't fall when she thrown herself onto him like that.

He tripped onto his puppet's arm and stumbled back, with Sakura pushing him onto the window, although he tried his best not to fall off despite how hard it was with Sakura uncomfortably hugging onto him. And luckily both of them didn't collapsed onto his puppet since if their weight were to combine; the entire marionette would be crushed.

"You know…" Sakura hiccupped loudly. She swallowed her saliva in attempt to stop before continuing. "Lady Chiyo really loves you. Even if you can't see it, you should be able to feel it here." Sakura jabbed her finger hardly into Sasori's chest.

"I don't need you to tell me." Sasori muttered.

"If I don't, nothing will get into your head." Sakura yelled childishly. "You'll only continue going into the path that I don't wish you to go." Her voice suddenly turned to a whisper.

Sasori blinked slowly, staring right through Sakura's determined eyes, her warm breathe touching the tip of his nose, and the cozy feeling that Sasori hadn't felt for a long time returned back to him when Sakura was holding him so closely.

"Why can't you open up your heart to give others a chance to love you, and a chance for you to love someone too?" Sakura hiccupped again, proving that her attempt to stop her hiccups previously was a failure.

"Actually …" Sasori gave a small smirk. "I already did…" He mumbled back.

Only after few seconds of silence then, he was positive that Sakura wasn't even aware that Sasori had spoken to her. The kunoichi just slumped her heavy head into Sasori's firm chest.

"You're so warm." Sakura softly muttered, snuggling further into Sasori's chest. He tensed, feeling more awkward than usual. The redhead tried to push her away again but she was stick to him like superglue.

"Brat. Let go before I force you."

There wasn't any reply, but he did presume that her answer was a no when she embraced even tighter.

He inwardly sighed, tiredly lying on the windowpane and stared out at the night. Kakuzu hadn't come back yet, like he already said he wouldn't. But it's very annoying for Sasori, having to wait for that money lover when he could do something worthwhile than to wait and get hugged by a drunken pinkette.

"Sakura, say the truth." Sasori muttered, hand still clinging tightly to the windowsill as he remembered that hesitant glance Sakura made when Kakuzu questioned her. "Other than changing the whatsoever future you claimed, what else is needed for you to go back?"

There was just silence again. He gave a loud sigh, attempting to push her off when he knew she wouldn't answer his question but she was still hugging him so tightly and it was kind of hard to believe that she was actually asleep when she still had the conscious to embrace him so tightly.

"Heart…"

He blinked, halting in his attempt to actually carry her up and away from him.

"Your heart…" She muttered.

"Pardon?" He raised an eyebrow.

Sakura seemed to be like unconsciously annoyed as she gave irritated sigh and a huge frown.

"Go back… Change… Heart."

Sasori shook his head, he grabbed the two arms they were hugging his chest and forcefully pulled it away from him.

He settled her down on the bed and tried his best not to wake her up before draping the blanket over her small body.

Sasori finally turned away and went back to his puppet when he knew it was still waiting for him to be fixed, after standing by the bed for one whole minute to make sure that she wouldn't sprang up and perhaps asked him to dance with him.

And only when he's focusing on his work, then the thoughts about this kunoichi that often messed up with his head could slowly go away.

The room was only filled with the muffled laughter coming from a crowded bar just a few blocks away from their inn. Sakura's soft breathing and the creaking of Sasori's puppet added to break the silence in the room too. But sometimes, the squeaking sound that Sasori made when he motioned his puppet would stop for a whole ten minutes without knowing it himself as he had paused his work for the fifth time to stare at the kunoichi lying on the bed, just coincidentally facing him too.

He wish he could be emotionally attach to her, be close to her, claiming her as his.

But he couldn't be attached to her unless he wanted to suffer those terrible pain and memories he strived to forget.

Sakura didn't belong to this world; his world. They are impossible to be together as sooner or later, she would go back to her own world, to her own friends and family, where they'll be waiting for her return.

Then once she's gone, he'll be alone—

—Alone in this cruel, cruel world.


	7. Revealing!

**Lost Year**

Revealing!

We keep running after people who least care about us.  
>Why don't we stop, turn around, and see the ones running behind us?<p>

During the Third Shinobi World War, Sasori had earned himself a nickname, Sasori of the Red Sand. He was being called like that throughout the world for using his ingenious puppets so successfully that he had dyed the sand red with blood when he was serving for Sunagakure.

When he was young, he had promised to himself that he would become one of those famous puppeteers in the world, so that his parents would hear of him and come back to his side again.

Bullshit.

Total bullshit.

He left the Wind village, thinking how naïve he was back then to believe in such dreams, crap and stuff. He set off, leaving Chiyo and the Puppet Brigade behind after killing the Third Kazekage.

As he sort of travel alone, Sunagakure tried to pursue him, but their efforts were fruitless so they gave up, thinking it was a pity to loss such talent. They only became desperate in wanting Chiyo's only grandson back when they realized that their Kazekage had gone missing for two whole weeks.

Having to sacrifice their ninjas to bring back Sasori was already troublesome, and even having the need to fork out their country's fund to get a bounty hunter to retrieve one of their Shinobi was quite a mockery already. Now they had to deal with the low rates of Shinobi, their money, and who on earth was the abductor who had took their future Kazekage. Sunagakure weren't going to sit back and relax now.

The leader of the Akatsuki, who had claimed himself as Pein, was quite impressed with Sasori's skills and took a keen in taking in the redhead into his organization to strive for peace. He knew what Sunagakure was planning and he wasn't going to sit and stare too, so he had assigned one of the available members to set out to recruit Sasori in.

And it had upset him for two whole days when he was noted that Orochimaru had _killed_ Sasori — in his female partner's opinion when he was staring in a displeased manner out at Amegakure.

The leader silently nodded. "I've also got news that Sasori was taken away from the Sunagakure's cell after they were exchanged for money." He gave a slight pause, looking intimidating at Kakuzu.

"The nickname for the bounty hunter is… oyster."

To keep their identity a secret, many hunters were enlisted with different names and weirdly, Kakuzu had to be called oyster for who know what reason.

"The reason why I had called you here was to know, if you have heard of him."

"No." The said man gave a short pause before answering, trying to feign that he was actually thinking about it.

After a dreadful long silence, Pein finally replied, "Fine," his pair of Rinnegan turned his attention away from Kakuzu. "Finding the bounty to kill him off is a waste of time too, since he might not be the capturer."

The Rinnegan user flicked his gaze back at the masked man one last time. "For now, just keep a lookout to any suspicious people involved in abducting Sasori. If possible, extract any information regarding them and what they exactly want from Sasori."

Kakuzu didn't voice out his displeasure or anything. He just stood there in silence without arguments about not wanting to do his given job.

Pein had already planned out everything, who to recruit and all, so there's no way he'll let some idiotic abductor to ruin his plans.

"Orochimaru."

In a second, a screen projection of the snake-man appeared in the dark cave.

"Sasori's alive." Kakuzu could sense the harsh glare the leader directed to the snake man even though the cave was dark and they were communicating through screen projection. It seems to be a sort of warning glare for Orochimaru, telling him that he did not wish for any more failures.

"I want him in my organization, Orochimaru. Eliminate anyone if they are a nuisance. However, I don't want Akatsuki to attract any attention, yet."

The sound of the snake summoner licking his lips could be heard even from the distance Kakuzu stood away from him. But whatever, like what Sakura had said earlier that day, the snake summoner would soon be defected from the organization, which Kakuzu was waiting pleasantly for.

"There's something I want to report too."

The silence let Orochimaru realized he was supposed to continue.

"Sasori has a companion. A girl."

"Does that mean you aren't capable of taking Sasori with us because of this girl?"

"No." Orochimaru sounded offended, but he never mentioned about his displeasure. "The thing is, she know about the existence of Akatsuki before I even tell Sasori about it."

_So Orochimaru had met that pink brat... _Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, making an effort to look surprise when no one bothered to give him a second glance.

"Who is she?"

"I'm not sure." Orochimaru admitted. "But she seems important to Sasori."

Kakuzu raised his eyebrow even higher, but this time he wasn't acting it. He regretted for not betting with someone that Sasori had something for Sakura.

"I won't allow this." Pein stated.

Kakuzu's thought was immediately snapped back to the dangerous tone the leader had given. The masked man didn't like how the atmosphere tensed up suddenly, and he knew how discomfort Orochimaru was too.

"If there's a need, use her to make Sasori join. Kill her if she's a hassle. I do not need anyone to disrupt my plans."

Kakuzu doubtfully turned to Orochimaru who was licking his lips pleasantly and nodded in agreement.

"Then, dismiss."

0o0

_We would have to lie low for a while. _Kakuzu thought, wandering down the dark and quiet street. Having Orochimaru sneaking on them would not do great for anyone, especially himself. Even though money was the most important thing in the world, he still had to make sure that his head remained attached to his neck.

Walking into the quiet inn that Kakuzu had specified Sasori to rent, he walked up the stairs to sense his two companion's chakra signature. After managing to sense one of their's, he walked up to the room and stood before the door.

A thin thread slowly slipped out under his sleeve and went into the lock, and in a few seconds, the door was unlocked. Kakuzu nodded gratifyingly and turned the doorknob silently.

His eyes widened a fraction as he stared at the two in the room.

Sakura was lying on the bed, motionlessly because she was sleeping, which was perfectly fine and normal. But Sasori, whose body was still on the floor, had his arm and head rested on the same bed Sakura was sleeping on. And if his chocolate brown eyes were to be open, it could be perfectly pictured that Sasori was watching Sakura sleep.

As Kakuzu took another step, a soft creak sounded from the wooden floor and Sasori's eyes flung open, his arm extended towards his unfinished human puppet on the floor before he realized it was just Kakuzu. His light blue chakra strings vanished on the spot as he had easily returned back his composure.

"Only guilty conscious people are startled to noises." Kakuzu stated.

"Every ninja does, Kakuzu." Sasori argued.

They both then turned to stare at the pinkette who was still soundly sleeping.

0o0

"_Your drink, miss?"_

"_Green tea." Sakura nodded after giving the menu one last glance. The waiter repeated the orders before taking his leave._

_No matter how much Sakura had eaten in the previous store the trio were in, she still missed the other delicacy in Konoha. She had kept it from Sasori because she didn't need a guy teasing her fat._

"_Table 46 wants a bottle apple sake." Another waiter told his collogue who was the one that had took Sakura's order._

_After a while, a trainee who had started working just yesterday approached to the busy counter after cleaning the dishes to see many trays ready to be collected and served to the customers, but many other of his seniors were busy working._

"_Boss, can I help?" He called out._

"_Take this to Table 64 and this to 46." The supervisor pointed casually without looking up from the counter while he was busy counting the money his current customer had gave him for the food._

"_Alright." He picked up the tray before looking at the drinks on the tray he was holding onto tightly. "Table 64: apple sake. Table 46: green tea." The newcomer nodded readily, bringing the round plate and approached to the individual table._

"_Here is your drink." The teenager placed the sake bottle on the table._

"_Eh?" Sakura stared curiously at the bottle before watching the boy bustling away to another table._

"_Excuse me?" Sakura called out again, but everyone was very busy with their work so no one had noticed Sakura calling for assistance._

_She sniffed around the top of the glass bottle while swirling the content. There was a sort of sweet smile that Sakura couldn't remember where she had smelt it before. But she was pretty sure it wasn't green tea._

_Sakura just shrugged, pouring the content out of the sake glass bottle and into the small cup. The pinkette took a cautious look at the clear liquid in the small cup before sipping it. She blinked, staring in disbelief at the drink she was holding to, it was surprising nice._

_She took another sip, another cup, and soon the entire bottle was emptied._

"_Waiter!" Sakura screeched, swinging the sake bottle in the air just like how her female teacher did when she was drunk. "One more of this!"_

"_Table 64 wants another bottle of apple sake!"_

Sakura groaned, faint memories slowly flooding back to her. She continued rubbing her temple as the throbbing pain returned to her again. As she continued staring at the ceiling, having her legs dangling off the bed, she recollected a few scenes from last night.

"_Sasori, the evil man!"_

"_DANCE DANCE!"_

"_Let's go for an adventure!"_

"_Be my bolster!"_

Sakura gave another loud whimper as she buried her face deep into both of her palms and gave a muffled scream. How much had she embarrassed herself in front of the redhead?

"What are you doing?" Sasori asked, just like what Kakuzu was about to question her too.

Sakura sat up on the bed swiftly, staring straight at the redhead who was gazing at her curiously just like every single day.

"N-Nothing." Sakura perked up a smile, trying to hide how humiliated she felt last night. Although she couldn't really remembered what she mostly said, she could faintly recalled most of the stupidest thing she did like hugging Sasori randomly and pushing him back to the windowsill.

"Let's go and get something to eat. There's a special discount for the food before noon." Sasori spoke, realizing how much he had sounded like Kakuzu, which was something he didn't want to happen.

"Alright." Sakura stood up from the tidied bed, whirling back to look at Kakuzu, wondering if he was ready.

"I'm resting for a while." Kakuzu said from the couch, lifting the newspaper to his eye-level.

"Do you need anything to eat?" Sakura inquired.

"No."

Sakura shrugged at Kakuzu's indifferent attitude towards her, knowing that she should get use to it soon. Wanting to take her pouch and leave, she realized they were in Konoha because she was going to restock her weapons as it was taken away by Sunagakure. She inwardly sighed and leave the room with Sasori kindly opening the door and waiting for her to get out already.

As she was carried on rubbing her temple, she tried to hide her abashment by starting the conversation first. "Yesterday, I got a little high, isn't it?"

"Too high that I felt embarrassed walking with you."

"Why must you always be so mean?"

"And since when I'm not?"

Sakura sighed, proceeding back rubbing her head. It would be perfect if they stopped talking for now.

0o0

The pinkette softly put down the small glass cup on the table, taking in another deep breathe to stop her headache from getting worse. It seemed that this tea she was drinking actually helped her headache to lessen pretty much. Maybe she should ask what kind of tea this was so that she could brew it for Tsunade whenever she had a hangover every morning.

But soon, her attention was drawn towards the two Konoha-nin sitting at the corner of the restaurant. She mindlessly lifted up the cup and sipped on the tea again.

"Sasori." Sakura whispered.

"I know." The redhead started tapping the table with his five fingers continuously till it sounded like a rhythm. "They had been looking for more than five minutes." Sasori spoke, his back facing the two Shinobi while Sakura's side was facing them instead, making it more than obvious for the Slug Princess's apprentice.

The two Shinobi signaled a waitress towards them, whispering some sort of secrets to her. Even though her expression was emotionless, the number of times she glanced at the two travelers sort of gave her away.

The waitress gave a firm nod before proceeding towards their table, taking out a pencil and a pad to take their orders.

"Excuse me, what would you like for today?"

Sakura began pointing at the menue for her order while Sasori just shrugged, leaving everything for his companion to decide.

"Anyway, are you two travelers?" She continued writing down their orders, keeping a close eye on Sasori. "Never seen you two here before."

"I'm from Konoha." Sakura smiled politely.

"Really?" The owner gave a tone that Sakura highly suggests as suspicion. "I've never met any girl that have pink hair, even in _my_ home town."

Sakura kept that smile up and lifted up her skirt, revealing the shiny headband tied around her thigh. Sasori refrained from looking as startled as he could. It wasn't a surprise that he didn't know she had her headband with her all along since he couldn't have possible looked down to observe her hips and thigh or something…

Furthermore, the redhead always thought that she kept her headband in her weaponry pouch. It seemed that she had kept it somewhere safer like tying them onto her smooth-looking thigh…

Sasori looked away, the reason partially was because he was being respectful and all, even though Sakura was wearing shorts under her ninja skirt. When the medic knew the waitress had seen enough proof, she went back to cover her thigh with her apron-like skirt. "I'm on a mission, so putting it out to let others see could be dangerous, guess I've forgotten it when I had returned."

"I'm sorry." The waitress gave an apologetic look as she held the brown tray up to her nose to cover her embarrassment. "And this is?" She looked over at Sasori.

"He is-"

"Her husband. My name is Hasuko, and she's Yasumi."

Sakura blinked rapidly, turning to face Sasori with a blank look.

"I've forgotten an introduction! My name is Madoka." She gave a soft smile before tilting her head as if she remembered something. "But if I recalled back, I could have sworn you called your wife 'Sakura' last night."

"Her pink hair influenced the nickname I gave her."

"How sweet…" Madoka sighed. Sakura gave a shiver.

"So you're both married at such a young age?" The waitress stared down at Sakura's stomach and Sakura followed her gaze.

"It's not what you think!" The pinkette blushed tremendously, covering her abdomen and gave a quick glare at the redhead before turning immediately to Madoka to stop her from giving a puzzled frown at her.

"We- He's from Sunagakure and I- we met during a recent mission… and fell in love." Sakura attempted a laugh.

"What happened?" She asked excitedly.

"Something happened along the way, and Hasuko came to save me." Sakura turned to give Sasori an assuring smile. "Thanks to him, I'm living."

"Aw…" Madoka made a jealous face, turning to stare at Sasori heroically before turning to Sakura to hear more.

"Having a long distance relationship was hard, so we decided to settle down together. We are visiting my parents later."

Madoka gave a long lovely sigh after staring dreamily in space; she turned to Sakura when she realized she was just standing there for a whole awkward minute.

"Excuse me while I'll get your food." Madoka smiled hastily before walking off.

Madoka approached the two loyal Shinobi from fire country and told them her short report. The two men stared at each other before glancing at Sasori and Sakura before nodding and thanking Madoka for her cooperation. Bowing politely, she went back to the kitchen to get the orders.

"Didn't know you actually have such wild imagination for our love story." Sasori scoffed.

"Under the effect of reading too much romance novels." Sakura smirked before wiping it off and turned it to a glare. "Why are you doing this anyway?" She pouted, almost forgetting how angry she was supposed to be previously.

"I've thought of disguising myself as a person who need some escort from this village. But it would be rather stupid for someone to believe this after the scene you had caused yesterday."

"So this is my fault?" Sakura bellowed.

"What else? You have a better idea?"

"And seriously… Yasumi?"

Sasori blinked confusingly, not understand what was up with Sakura suddenly until he thought that maybe Sakura was displeased at the fact that he didn't use their original name.

"Well, if you were to come back from the past, with pink hair and the exact same name, I don't think that would actually make any sense."

"I already know that." She said in a huff.

"Then what's with the pout?"

"Don't you have like a better name to call me? " Sakura fumed, "I could name better than that, _Hasuko_."

"Then what do you want to be called? _Sakura_."

A small shiver went down her spine while she continued glaring at the redhead. The way Sasori had just called her made her so tensed that probably not even Sasuke could make her.

Her pair of eyes slowly moved down to his lips that seductively called her name and a sweat tricked down her face, her face turned as pink as her hair almost as fast as she blinked.

_No dirty thoughts, Haruno Sakura!_ The said girl screamed in her head, turning her head stubbornly away from Sasori who still could not understand what on earth was she thinking.

After a while, Madoka returned, settling the last bowl from her tray as she proudly pointed out. "And here is your last order, our restaurant's specialty; red bean soup!" Madoka exclaimed, "Anyway, I'll get one of our famous buns in town, on the house! I'll be right back!"

"You don't have to Madoka." Sakura called out.

"It's fine, think it as a small wedding gift from me." The waitress gave a wink before walking back into the kitchen. In fact, Madoka was giving them free food while docking it from her pay was because she felt guilty for even suspecting them that they had infiltrated the fire country.

As she disappeared into the kitchen again, Sakura stared amusingly at the spoon that was placed on the plate just beside the bowl. She scooped the red bean soup with the spoon and attempted stuffed it into Sasori's mouth.

"It's one of their specialty here. I hope you like it, sweetie."

Sasori glared, grudgingly opened it before it was spilled onto his clothes, only to give Sakura another chance to mock him further. "Is it sweet enough?"

"Yes." He muttered, still glaring. If he were to reject Sakura's offer, the two ninja behind him would start to get suspicious.

"I can't hear you, honey."

"Yes, it's sweet enough, _darling_." His tone sounded force.

Sakura nodded approvingly, putting down the spoon to grab a napkin on the table.

"I can do it myself." Sasori went out to reach for the table napkin but Sakura was faster. She pulled her hand away from Sasori's grasp, not letting the redhead to take it.

"Let me do it for you." Sakura broke into a huge smile and lifted her arm nearer to Sasori's chin.

Sakura could easily make out the translation fuming in Sasori's eyes. _"Are you wishing for death? Brat."_

She beamed, softly tapping the corner of Sasori's mouth with the side of the napkin as her sweet smile translated to reply Sasori._ "Please don't ruin the moment my dearest." _

After the longest moment Sasori had ever waited, Sakura finally finished what she was doing and settled the napkin down, dragging her stool a little bit closer to Sasori. "Since you said we are husband and wife, we should totally act this out, no regrets!" Sakura murmured softly, keeping that same cheerful expression on her face.

This was just pure revenge. There's no way could Sakura ever willing claimed to be anyone's wife just because someone had or wanted to; not even this hot redhead who was sitting beside her.

"Oh?" Sasori flicked his gaze back at her, their face just a few inches away from each other. But no matter how close they were now, it could not be compared to Sakura's I-should-embrace-everyone-I-see mode, which happened just yesterday night.

"I never knew you are so enthusiastic about this, _Sakura_. Since you say we should act this all out without regrets, I don't see why I should hold back either."

Sakura didn't like the smirk forming on Sasori's lips, neither did she like that small glint of mischief firing in his eyes. But then his face soon fell lax and a serious expression engulfed him.

"Actually, there's also been something I wanted to tell you for a long time…" He scooted his seat closer.

In the corner of her eyes, Sakura noticed that the two Shinobi had finished their break and left the eatery. But she didn't care about it anymore. All her attention was focused on the nearing redhead who was inching his face closer and closer — to be more precise — moving his lips nearer and nearer to her own.

Sasori rested one of his arms on the table, while he's leaning forward, his other hand was reaching out for her ear; and like every romance novel Sakura read, the main male character will always put the female main character's hair behind her ear before they kiss, or so, that's what Sakura thought.

_I'm not ready… I'm not ready! _Sakura's heart started beating faster, more furious. Sakura's eyes slowly closed on its own, her palm was getting sweaty and her breath hitched. Although she was always saving her first kiss for someone worthy, someone she loves, it was still a wonder why she hadn't punched him like what she always do to Naruto.

"Done."

He flicked the small feather as it floated along the small breeze in the eatery that was caused by the fans hanging on the ceiling.

"W-What?" Sakura stuttered after she had flung open her eyes, watching the soft feather drifting out of the inn. She turned to stare at the redhead who had gone back to his original seating position.

"There's a feather in your hair." He muttered, scooping the red bean with the spoon and putting the metal utensil to his mouth.

"H-How could you tease me l-like that?"

Sasori turned to stare at her, having the spoon hanging in his mouth. "Oh? I was kindly picking a feather from your hair, how does that tease you? _Yasumi_."

Sakura wanted to say something, but her mouth opened and closed just like a sick goldfish, five fingers grasping tightly around her table.

"Or…" Sasori took the spoon out of his mouth and used it to point at Sakura who was sitting at the edge of the stool, still fuming and blushing hard. "…Are you having some weird thoughts? _Sakura_."

Sakura was about to burst any moment. She had never been teased so badly before since everyone knew her temper wasn't any far from Tsunade's. Naruto's whacking and smacking served everyone as a warning so no one was that brave to make Sakura furious. Except for Sasori, that's for sure.

"You-"

Kakuzu raised his eyebrow, trudging slowly towards the two when he immediately spotted a pink and a redhead sitting in the middle of the eatery. As he got closer to the pair, he noticed the small blush tinted on Sakura's cheek while Sasori was fiddling with his food, smirking in fact.

"What are you two doing?"

"-Kakuzu" Sakura stared back at the other man approaching them, her emerald eyes wide and filled with panic and embarrassment, hoping that he never seen how badly Sasori had just mocked her. She was planning to make fun of Sasori, seemed that the table had turned and it ended up her blushing instead.

At that moment, Madoka appeared from the kitchen with new sets of food just for Sakura and Sasori, and when a new customer appeared by the table with her new _friends_, she raised an eyebrow, not sure if she should continue her suspicion when she noted the weird cloak Kakuzu was wearing.

"This is…" Madoka wiped her hand on her bright yellow apron after she had placed the food, staring uncertainly at Kakuzu who had took a seat opposite Sakura.

"He's Dento, a relative of mine." Sasori stated calmly. Kakuzu just gave a curt nod at the waitress, knowing what Sasori was doing.

"Distant?" Madoka commented, adding something that Kakuzu found it very unnecessary. "You both look quite… different."

Kakuzu's eye twitched unhealthily as he turned to face the waitress. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Anyway, en-enjoy your me-meal." Madoka stammered, scurrying towards another group of customers who wanted to order their food.

0o0

"Please take a look. If you need my assistance, just tell me" The salesperson called out while Sakura gleefully nodded in reply, staring in awe at so many weapons neatly stacked on the shelves. It's been quite some time since she ever went to restock her weapons even when she's in the future.

Not needing any of these, both Sasori and Kakuzu stood outside the store, trying to wait patiently as they could for Sakura to finish shopping her things. And when it comes to shopping, every man would be afraid when they had to come with women.

"Trouble's brewing." Kakuzu started speaking after a long silence.

Sasori looked up to the tall man who was staring down the street, deep in thought.

"We need to lie low. Orochimaru is beginning to move. He's going to find you again."

The name of the famous snake summoner made Sasori awake suddenly. He gave a sidelong glance at the pinkette who already paying for her weapons before gazing at the tall man beside him.

"So he came to pick me up after attempting to kill me?" Sasori scoffed before adding behind.

"Then again… Why are we following you?"

"Done." Sakura called out as she bustled out of the store, with two pouches that was similar to her previous ones but different colour.

"Where are we going now?" Sakura stretched.

Sasori took out his hand, wanting Sakura to let him see the weapons she bought as the pinkette gave it to him silently.

"Other small villages within the fire country." Kakuzu stated.

When Sasori remained poking through the weapons in the newly bought pouch, not bothering to cut Kakuzu's suggestion of place and continued questioning him, the masked man inwardly snorted.

"We'll take cover in Tanzaku Town."

0o0

"Shizune~"

"…"

"Shizune!"

"Tsunade-sama. Everyone's looking!" The young teenager who had newly become a chunin just two months ago cried out, trying to hush Tsunade down from yelling any further.

"Hmm, I know that!" Tsunade continued swinging her sake bottle, her breast bouncing with every step she took, attracting all the men that were walking past the two of them.

"I think we should move to another town, Tsunade-sama." The 13 years old girl suggested, clinging tightly onto her master's arm before she fell on the ground. "Tanzaku town is full of lechers and idiots."

"But they have fine bars and gambling dens." Tsunade swooned, swirling her sake in the glass bottle she was holding. "I'm not going to go anywhere unless I win back my money."

"Does that mean we are going to be stuck here forever?" Shizune muttered sorrowfully.

"What did'cha say, my brilliant student?"

"Nothing at all." The Slug Princess's student replied, trudging back to their inn and shooting glares at everyone that was staring seductively at Tsunade — boobs.


	8. Understanding!

Author's Note:  
>Tsunade had a phobia of blood after Dan died and before the fight between the Three Sanin in the Search for Tsunade's arc. But let's pretend she doesn't have this phobia, shall we? If that's fine with you, please carry on reading and I hope you enjoy this short chapter once again! Reviews would be greatly appreciated too! :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lost Year<strong>

Understanding!

Crying isn't something to be ashamed of.  
>It's a proof that you cared for someone when you never knew you did before.<p>

It was just an hour of fast running and they were soon near the entrance of the infamous gambling town in the Fire country, but both of Sakura's companion wanted to confirm with some things there before they stepped foot into the small town. Without any objection, Sakura agreed to the plan since she knew whatever both of them were doing should have a logical reason behind it.

Trusted to be fine by herself, Sakura was left sitting alone under a tall tree in a small clearing she had managed to find not far from the meeting spot Sasori decided on. Fiddling with a small flower that was by her side, she remembered a few occasions when Ino boasted about her beautiful flower garden at the back of Yamanaka's court.

All of a sudden, a loud snap was heard just a few meters away from where Sakura was. Her head shot up as she quickly scurried to her feet, getting ready into her battle position. She could sense a few odd, dark and definitely unfamiliar chakra signatures approaching her slowly but steadily.

"Who are you people?" Sakura yelled, receiving no answers at all. She then slowly stepped into the brighter clearing when she felt more of them were approaching from the bushes behind her back.

A figure stepped out first, and it was the man she dreaded to see ever again. And soon, the others ninja who were hidden for quite some time stepped out, circling Sakura and observing her every move.

"Orochimaru…" The pinkette stepped forward steadily, to only turn around to find the dozen of the Akatsuki's subordinate coming towards her when they thought she was going to attack their master. The recognizable curse mark were starting to spread all over their body in a speed of lightning.

"What do you want?" Sakura snarled, stopping her movement and forcing every muscle inside her to stay calm and remained in her place. The pinkette didn't have Sasori to back her up like last time so she had to act on her own. She had to think rationally without being all crazy punching air and wasting her chakra. To add to her disadvantages, Orochimaru even brought his own underlings with him.

"I was just wondering where is your other companion." Orochimaru licked his lips, approaching closer and closer to her. "Our discussion wasn't finished before but he had run away. Such a rude child."

"There's no need for any discussion." Sakura sneered, her fist slowly engulfed by her blue chakra.

As she attempted to take another step towards Orochimaru, his subordinates rushed over to Sakura, which was actually what the pinkette was hoping for. Whirling around swiftly, she gave a huge punch onto the ground, sending several shocked opponents flying into the air.

When more dashed towards her direction, she was able to defend and defeated them fairly easy enough just by using her powerful strength and moves although they were in their second stage. Without stopping, she continued sending chakra punches to each and every one of them before they were finally knocked out unconscious.

It seemed that they only could reach the second stage of their curse mark since they never attempted to transform even when they were near fainting, which was a great relief to Sakura since it would be troublesome if they could transform into the third stage.

"Interesting..." Orochimaru spoke, ignoring the bodies lying across the field. Sakura grabbed onto the only male ninja left who should be about the same age as her and threw him into Orochimaru's direction, but the snake summoner easily avoided the attack as he stared, uninterested at his subordinates on the ground before looking up at Sakura pleasantly.

"You're by far, one of the few who managed to defeat my subordinates so easily, even though they were not trained to their third stage" He licked his lips, his two eyes suddenly widened so much that it was freaking Sakura out.

"It would be a waste to kill someone like you..." Orochimaru tilted her head sideways, his brows raised quite an unnecessary amount.

"Leave!" Sakura howled.

"I must have underestimated your skills during our previous encounter due to your sudden flaring up incident. But since this does prove that you're indeed a hassle…"

"Shit-" Sakura widened her eyes to her maximum when she started sensing more similar dark and foul chakra approaching nearer and nearer, so fast that Sakura couldn't guess how many were there.

"Damn it!" Sakura turned and ran back into the dense forest, brushing the branches and small trees away as she dodged them as fast as possible. She could easily detect the strong chakra signature that belonged to Orochimaru catching up her quicker than she would like to. If both of them were to keep up with their own pace, he would definitely catch her in no time.

Summoning her remaining chakra to her feet, she sprinted down as fast as she could before getting caught by the snake summoner and the rest of his approaching underlings.

0o0

"This is stupid." Sasori finally halted on his track after running for about three minutes, as they were getting closer to the entrance.

Kakuzu stopped too, settling on a thick long branch further ahead from Sasori.

"Although I'm grateful that you had helped us escaped from the prison, I would like to say that our travelling business should end here since you gotten the money just like you wanted."

"Hm?" Kakuzu turned and observed the redhead who was standing firmly on his spot.

"I don't see your point in helping us at all. Sakura and I are fine travelling originally as a duo." Sasori muttered

"Ah." Kakuzu loosened his grip onto his precious briefcase. "Are you pissed because I am a third wheel?"

Sasori blinked, totally caught off guard.

"Indeed, I don't see the point why I was so insistent in wanting you to follow me other than the sake for that damn organization. But now you had mentioned it, I couldn't help but agree. I don't have any plans to join you pests any further. That's one of reason for me to choose Tanzaku Town instead of other village that were even near to Konohagakure." Kakuzu blurted out before continuing.

"It's quite entertaining seeing both of you struggling like idiots some times throughout the journey. But I supposed that now it's the best time to let you experience what true fear is, don't you think?"

The redhead narrowed his eyes.

"Sasori of the Red Sand." Kakuzu spoke, fully turning around to face the redhead. "You and that pink girl are simply too naïve if you think you two could survive out there just the two of you alone." The Akatsuki member shook his head, slowly turning back to head towards to the town's direction, knowing that he would be going alone.

"If you two were just from some fishing village, enjoying life and all that you two need to worry were just bearing kids, I would have nothing to say." Kakuzu stopped in his track once again, glancing back at his shoulder.

"A girl from the future? You being a S-ranked criminal that leader had his eyes set on you? Watch your back cause the road ahead would be tough."

"You do know you've talked a lot, don't you?" Sasori sneered.

"It's just a couple of kind warnings, in gratitude for cooperating with me for the past few weeks." Kakuzu smirked, looking far ahead. "But it's always a wonder why I'm wasting my time on you idiots." He finally decided to continue his path as his back view became tinier and tinier till it was gone.

0o0

After Orochimaru had left the scene alone, Sakura glanced wearily across the muddy and bloodied field, with a couple of her dead opponents having their eyes wide opened and still staring hopefully at Orochimaru's direction, hoping that he would at least take them out here alive.

Sakura slowly looked away, biting her lips in pain when more blood started oozing out from her mouth uncontrollably. Her forehead was drenched with cold sweats and her eyes were turning foggy.

"Heal…" Sakura cried out hoarsely, forcing her chakra to her chest to heal on its own, but it was totally impossible due to her dangerously low amount of chakra left within her.

_"I don't care who I have to fight… If he rips my arms off, I'll kick him to death. If he rips my legs off, I'll bite him to death. If he rips my head off, I'll stare him to death. And if he gouges my eyes, I'll curse him to death… Even if I'm torn to shreds… I will find a way to take Sasuke back!" _

_Naruto…_

"Damn it…" Sakura bawled weakly, her eyes kept shut tightly together. _I can't die here while Naruto and the others are waiting me back in the future. We're supposed to bring Sasuke back together. I can't die!_

Sakura started trying to force herself to move. But it seemed the poison Orochimaru had on the sword when it sliced her back during the battle was taking effect. She could sense her organs slowly shutting themselves down on their own even when Sakura tried to force them to work.

"I can't die!" Sakura squeaked softly, her eyes still remained tightly shut while bearing the pain she felt all over her body.

"No, you won't die. You will not die."

The pinkette slowly peeled open her eyes when she recognized the voice before her. But before Sakura manage to observe her surrounding clearer, she found two warm arms sliding under her legs and back and she was lifted her up from the ground.

"Hey… finally you came back…" Sakura muttered weakly. "…I thought you hated… making people wait…"

After making sure Sakura's head was nicely resting on his chest instead of dangling uncomfortably from his arm, Sasori summoned as much chakra as he could to his feet and dashed into the dense trees, being seen just a flash of red when he ran through the forest.

"Brat." He yelled hoarsely, continuing running towards the direction of Tanzaku Town to get help as fast as he could.

"Don't sleep. Don't close your eyes. Stay awake."

"I can't…" She coughed, her hand clutching even tighter to Sasori's already bloodied clothes. "I can't hold on anymore…" Sakura could only manage a whisper before her eyelids started drooping again.

"For my sake!" He yelled. "Don't sleep, alright? Do it for me for my sake!"

"Sa-Sasori…" She whispered, her hazy and dull eyes peering to the man holding her so tightly.

"I'm sorry." He continued running, facing straight ahead and refusing to meet Sakura in the eye. "I wasn't there when you needed me. I couldn't protect you."

"…"

"But I also wouldn't forgive you too." He spoke sternly, finally finding the courage to turn to Sakura.

"Sasori…"

"If you die before me, I will never forgive you."

Sakura wanted to raise her hand to touch Sasori's cheek, to see if what she was witnessing now wasn't actually hallucination. But she was too weak to even move her arms at all. All she could do was to part her lips as she softly spoke in an audible whisper.

"Sasori…" Sakura mumbled. "Are you… crying?"

But before she could hear her answer from him, her entire surrounding turned all foggy and dim and she soon fell unconscious in his arms.

0o0

_Something isn't right._

A couple stack of money were once again shoved in front of Tsunade as she accepted her winning money cautiously.

"Tsunade-sama! Having this kind of luck for just another week, we can leave this town already!" Shizune cheered happily. The young teenager was actually prohibited from entering the gambling den due to her age, but since Tsunade was a regular customer and often lose all her money in the den, the boss was more than welcome to have both of them inside every time.

"I've never won so much before." Tsunade spoke out the truth.

"That's great then!" Her fiancé's niece exclaimed happily, for the first time being so enthusiastic with her teacher gambling habit. "Come on Tsunade-sama, place your bet already!"

_That necklace…_

The masked man who was observing Tsunade for quite some time narrowed his eyes, a newfound hatred reflecting from his eyes when his attention was drawn to the shiny necklace hung around Tsunade's neck.

Even if Kakuzu were to continue living for another few decades due to his special techniques and abilities, he would still remember how his first tough opponent looked like. The necklace that the First Hokage wore during Kakuzu's attempted assassination was rumored to be able to buy three mountains with the profit earned by selling the diamond necklace.

It was seen right before his eyes, hanging around Tsunade's neck and shining victoriously back at Kakuzu as if it was still mocking his defeat.

Kakuzu was now very sure the woman who was sitting a few meters away from him was none other than the First Hokage's granddaughter, Tsunade. It was quite easy to recognize her, being the well-known medic-nin although it was certainly rare for such a time, and to have her name known for the remarkable beauty even with her old age made Kakuzu even easier to recognize her.

Tsunade finally looked up for the second time at the man who was glancing at her now and then. It wasn't like no one had stared at her ever since she came to this town because of her bosom, but that man just looked too suspicious to ignore. Tsunade inwardly snorted, pushing her stack on money forward as she loudly shouted the bet she was placing.

"Hands off the table, hands off the table!" The owner of the den commanded before revealing the two dices underneath his black opaque cup.

"We've won again!" Shizune squealed happily, shaking Tsunade while jumping on the spot.

After collecting her money calmly, her head slightly turned, having her two light brown eyes gazing impassively at Kakuzu again. She had enough of his staring issue and something inside her mind told her to be cautious with him even when she was really lazy to even be bothered about him.

Could it be the luck she was gaining related to him?

No. She only won in bets when something bad was going to happen. So was it him that might be the cause of the mishap she was going to face?

Tsunade remained glaring at Kakuzu who still defiantly hadn't turned away. It was like everything around them faded along with sounds of chattering and shouting and all that focused was only the two of them, the glares they both exchange could easily freeze over hell.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune shook her teacher's arm after she had not responded for the second time. "Are you too shock from winning all these money, Tsunade-sama?" She jokingly added when she still hadn't got a reply.

"Oh my!"

"All those blood…"

"What happened to that girl?"

A couple of troubled shouts were heard outside of the den they were in. A few curious civilians walked away from their table and approached outside to see what was the commotion about, leaving only a few dedicated gamblers behind the den.

"Anyone here knows how to heal her?" There was a short pause before the same panicky voice shouted again. "Someone? Just anyone!"

"Heal?" Shizune head shot up and glanced back at the exit of the gambling den before turning to observe the impassive Slug Princess who was still staring at Kakuzu, but all Shizune thought was that her teacher was just staring into space.

Without getting any consent, the young teenager rushed out of the exit to witness a large crowd circling around something. She managed to catch a glimpse of a near adult teen clutching tightly to a bloodied girl in his arm. He was on his knees and panting hard and fast.

"Move aside!" Shizune screamed, pushing everyone out of the way as she rushed over to Sasori.

"Hn." Kakuzu finally decided to stop his boring staring contest as he returned his attention back to his gambling table instead. After a while, the masked man finally stood up from his seat, shoving all the money he earned into his brief case after counting them thoroughly. Locking the money securely in the case, Kakuzu walked out of the den after passing by Tsunade who was still gazing at the spot he was previously sitting on.

When the masked man paused in his track outside the gambling haunt to see the frantic situation in the middle of the busy street, his eyes widened a fraction in surprise when he realized it was actually his ex-companions. But soon, Kakuzu emotionlessly glanced away without a change in expression. When he had heard the begging shouts from a familiar voice a while ago, he thought he was just imagining things.

"Orochimaru did overboard this time." Kakuzu muttered in a bored tone, trudging away from the crowd and not looking back for once. His little fun adventure with the two pests was over so this was none of his concern anymore.

Now it's time for him to find another quiet and nice gambling place to earn some fast cash before he's assigned with some immortal partner in the future.

As Kakuzu disappeared away down the street, Shizune finally regained her composure and cried out for her teacher.

"Tsunade-shishou!"

"Tsunade?" Sasori eyes widened, gaping at Shizune who had cried out her master's name.

Within a second, the crowd was all pushed away as a young-looking lady approached to the middle, staring slightly horrified at the scene. She immediately bent down and grabbed Sakura's wrist to check for her pulse.

"She's still alive, but she's extremely weak." Tsunade stated calmly, looking up at Sasori before turning to Shizune. "We need to get her somewhere to treat her. Now Shizune, listen carefully to the things I want you to get."

0o0

"Grab her down, I'm going to use the illness extraction technique to draw the poison out!"

"Yes!"

A loud scream could be heard behind the doors as Sasori stiffened, his blood just ran cold from shock. His head slowly hung low as he could hear a few mutters from some tenants in the same inn as they were in, everyone curious on what was going on in the room Sasori was guarding outside

"Damn it." Sasori sat on the cold floor tiredly, his back lying right beside the door.

_True fear. Is this just like what Kakuzu mentioned?_

"Why am I being like this?" Sasori muttered, having both his arm draping over his head as he stared tiredly on the ground, his usually calm and unexpressive eyes were now filled with terror and worried for the injured girl in the room.

This feeling… this unnamable feeling was suffocating him that he could hardly breathe

_Blood… How much blood had she lost…_

Sasori couldn't stand that pain in his chest whenever he remembered the scene where he stood there, clueless and terrified when the body of the girl he had been travelling for quite some time was bloodied all over, almost in verge of death.

_Stay calm. She's not going to die… She's strong. Sakura is strong. I believe in her._

Even after the housekeeper had persuaded Sasori to get a change of clothes instead of standing outside for the past one hour, the scent of blood still lingered. He didn't know if he was smelt with Sakura's blood or was he just imagining the scent after being with it for a long time.

Another loud scream echoed, a few curious tourists jumped in shock along the passageway.

The fear, the fear of losing something came back to him again. The recognizable pain, the feeling, those emotions firing in his chest. He finally understood what was actually making him felt this way for Sakura.

It had been something he wished he could abandon successfully before even meeting the pinkette in the desert.

_This wasn't supposed to happen…_

Sasori slammed his face into the palms of his hands.

He should have killed her. He should have killed her even before they had left the desert so he didn't have to feel this way again. But Sasori knew that deep down, he was glad that he didn't.

Another loud scream sounded and at the corner or Sasori's eyes, quite a number of busybodies finally decided that they shouldn't stay around to hear the horrible scream as they returned back to their room. After the painful shout quieted down, Sasori could hear some anxious commands made by Tsunade to her apprentice.

Sasori's main goal for abandoning his village was to fully getting rid of his emotions and feelings he loathed… But he didn't mind having them back again if he could also experience something like happiness, joy and perhaps love from none other than Sakura herself.

0o0

The door slowly opened, and a foot stepped out as Sasori's attention was immediately drawn to the figure coming out from the room. He stood up slowly to observe Tsunade having several blotches of blood in all sorts of places on her green robe.

Sasori stared into Tsunade's eyes with hope but all she did was staring back firmly with an impassive expression, her lips narrowing into a thin line

_This can't be…_

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune called out with a puzzled tone as she stood behind the door, wondering why was Tsunade blocking her path out.

Sasori's confused eyes were then turned to the teenager who was gazing weirdly at Tsunade until she finally gave up pondering about her teacher and turned to look at Sasori, adding a huge beam.

"She's fine now! All she needs is plenty of rest."

Sasori could have sworn he almost wanted to jump onto them to give a thankful hug. But he was able to stop himself from doing that when his legs were too numb to even move due to the news he heard. Taking in a deep breath, the redhead gave a swift bow, looking up with gratitude to the two women before departing calmly into the room when both of them made way for him. The door quietly shut behind him in a second.

"How on earth did she get injured anyway?" Shizune wondered aloud before debating her own question with herself. "Could it be an ambush?" She started nodding to herself before turning back at Tsunade who was still staring in space.

"What's wrong? Are you tired?" The young teenager asked.

"No." The Slug Princess stared in mild shock at her apprentice, disbelieving that her young student actually looked down at her like that. "That boy seems familiar."

"Really?" Shizune spoke.

"Ah." Pieces of her memories finally came back to her. "He looked just like Chiyo's son." Tsunade gave a tiny smirk when she mentioned the old lady, remembering how furious she looked when Tsunade managed to come up with an antidote for her ingenious poisons.

"But… I thought the group of Sunagakure ninjas who were sent for back up during the mission were all killed by Konoha white-"

"Yes." Tsunade muttered. "I just said that they looked alike, nothing else." The Slug Princess spoke as she decided to step away from the door, proceeding down the corridor while her bubbly apprentice followed quickly behind her.

"Come, Shizune. We'll get some ingredients and medicines for the girl to take so the poison in her could be fully purified."

"Alright." Shizune grinned happily, being glad that her teacher was back to her old self instead of gambling every day.

"But after that, are we leaving?" The teenager said with her hopes up high.

"No." Tsunade replied deadpanned. "We can't leave."

"Why not?" Shizune questioned sadly, not understanding why was Tsunade still so defiant in leaving this town.

"I know the answer to who had injured the girl to that state."

"What?" Shizune almost yelled, quickening her steps to catch up with her teacher.

"Because I'm certain that one of the weapons that was used to injure the girl-" Tsunade suddenly narrowed his brows, her eyes filled with hatred and despise and Shizune felt so cold suddenly.

"-Was coated with one of Orochimaru's original poison collection that he had created not long before he was defected from the village." She spoke in a deadly tone, her two ponytails swinging behind her back with every step she took down the hall.

0o0

Sasori didn't knew where the two beneficial woman had gone, but it would be out of his mind to go search for them and having Sakura staying here alone.

After a whole ten minutes had passed since Sasori entered the room, Sakura finally responded and stirred in her lying position, her eyes slowly opened before blinking a few time to accommodate to the sudden brightness.

Her head then slowly turned to the redhead sitting tiredly on a stool by the bed.

"…"

"Don't speak. Just rest." Sasori said, knowing Sakura well.

Sakura felt more relieved than ever when she realized she was still alive and well. She thought she couldn't go back to the future, seeing Naruto and the rest and watching Sasuke finally stepping into the village and be a part of their team once again.

The pinkette was afraid too, afraid that she couldn't tell Sasori she would miss him as an arrogant travelling partner, and how she hated him for being so mean to her some times when she didn't understand why was he like that to her.

But what she truly wanted was to finally witness the new Sasori, the changed Sasori. And to know whom would he become if she had managed to change his fate, turning him into someone different and actually helpful to the good side rather than people from the Akatsuki. Maybe one day, she would walk into the Kazekage office to send a secret scroll from Tsunade, to find Sasori sitting behind the desk in his Kazekage robes.

Sakura closed her eyes thoughtfully, almost wishing that what she imagined could come true.

"Sasori…"

He looked up, wanting to tell Sakura to just sleep and rest already, but something inside of him made him stop from saying any words.

"I'm sorry… " Sakura bit her lips miserably, forcing herself not to cry even though she knew she was too weak to even do so. "I wasn't there for you like how you were there for me when you were hurt before…"

"Brat, I said just rest. Don't speak anymore." Sasori commanded.

A small smile soon formed on Sakura's lip as she mouthed the two words she had been dying to say before tiredly returning back to sleep.

"_Thank you."_


	9. Concerning!

**Lost Year**

Concerning!

One of the best feelings in the world is having someone falling for you  
>when you never thought you had the chance before.<p>

When Sasori was just a child, he was enrolled into the Sunagakure academy due to his special talent in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and even Genjutsu. Before they started their lesson, his homeroom teacher asked a few kids about why were they interested in being a ninja instead of a normal civilian in Sunagakure. Many stated that it was because they wished to protect their families and friends in the village.

Sasori too, wanted to become a well-trained ninja so that he could protect his own parents and anyone that were closed to him. The young redhead didn't want them to die before him. He wanted to protect them so that they could live happily together until their age finally caught up with them.

But one day, just like that, everything turned upside down.

After waiting for so long, Sasori finally found out the truth behind his parent's absence even though he had always wished those assumptions he made everyday were not true. Soon, he started shielding himself from everyone and stayed at home regularly to stare at the only family portrait on the bedside table.

As guilt started haunting his grandmother for lying to him so long, Chiyo taught him a technique in hoping that he would not be lonely again. Then when he started learning about puppet jutsu from his grandmother, _he realized_ _what he had been searching all along. _

His art required eternal beauty, something that would stay forever and never rot away.

Sasori wished that his parent's love could be eternal just like his art. Never to be gone and would always be there. And there he thought, his two first two puppets he created which resembled his parents could give him that eternal warmth he longed for, but how wrong he was.

Feelings and emotionless were the things Sasori loathed the most in the world. These were the things that pulled him into the depth of despair and loneliness he hated to the core of the earth.

Yet ironically, even after making so many ingenious puppets that earned him quite a reputation throughout the world, he had actually missed out such a simple logic ever since he started making puppets.

Puppets were occasionally made to look like human in a battle, and even if they were painted with glorious colors or wearing beautiful kimonos and such, they would still remain emotionless, impossible for them to give or feel towards anything around them at all.

After drafting out his finest creation he made on earth, _he realized what he had been wanting all along._

Ditching his village when he managed to make the Third Kazekage into part of his collection, he set ahead on his own with a huge amount of information's about his home village and researches on human puppets. The reason being was that he could turn himself into a puppet, which would represent his opinion about eternal beauty and also able to abandon his feelings and emotions into this empty shell he would create for himself.

And that was what he had been _searching and wanting_ all along.

So Sasori started making plans and many experiments to transform himself into a human puppet. But even after researching for about a year when he was still in Sunagakure, the ingenious puppeteer still couldn't figure out how to change himself fully into a puppet without having at least an organ that would keep him alive. _His heart._

As he began to attempt more research to make himself into a complete puppet, this had to happen.

A pink-haired brat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and beginning to delay him from getting his project completed ever since she volunteered to join him in his trip. And to make matter worse, he was getting too much attention to himself that also made him unable to focus on getting his work done. It was a nuisance, really, but Sasori just couldn't bear to just get rid of the girl for some weird reasons that he couldn't understand.

Neither could he comprehend why was he overly acting around his injured companion when he could be sitting back and minding his own business.

For example, doing things like making sure that Sakura had fallen into a deep slumber instead of waking up and sneaking out. And then going a few rounds around the inn she was staying at to see that there were no suspicious people loitering before deciding to return back to the very spot he found her to investigate to the dead bodies scattering all around the field.

It was seriously a waste of time for him, and he really hated to waste his precious time on things like this. But Sasori couldn't help it, he just had to make sure Sakura would be alright before he could went on safely to check on the things he wanted to know about.

The air was tensed and humid and not even a single sound from any bugs or animal was heard at all.

Sasori stepped before a bloodied man who was already dead. He was lying on his stomach and his arms and legs sprawled out.

With a kick, the body rolled over a few times and finally lying faced up. The deceased had his eyes opened, both of them displaying how frightened and helpless he was before he died.

The only way to know who had almost killed Sakura was as easy as anyone breathing. The weird but familiar-looking black marks that were spread across his face and arms were enough prove for Sasori to know who he was going to exact his revenge on.

The redhead had enough of this nonsense. With that snake bastard running after him was annoying enough, but hurting his only trusted companion had definitely crossed the line.

He glanced briefly across the clearing once again before trudging off. The puppeteer was sill not sure how he's going to settle his score when he didn't have help in hand ever since that stupid money lover had left — not that he wanted him back either — but he'll definitely sort this out, on his own.

0o0

"I don't know Tsunade-sama. Is she suffering some after effect from the operation?" Shizune worriedly spoke, putting the spoon back into the bowl.

The blonde then took the bowl from Shizune as the apprentice gave up her seat for her master to sit. As both of them exchanged places, Sakura's bright emerald eyes began moving and eyeing only on the Sanin wherever she go.

Tsunade then lifted the utensil to Sakura's lips but they refused to open even when forced of instructed. Her eyes were still staring at the blonde for almost five minutes that even the greatest medic in the world felt disturbed by it. Tsunade then placed the bowl of brownish colored liquid onto the bedside table and went forward to pinch Sakura's arm with that calm expression she had on her face.

"Ow!" Sakura yelped, rubbing her immediate bruise that was forming on her arm. She stared at it numbly before cracking a smile.

"So it's not a dream." She muttered happily and rubbing her new injury with glee.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and lifted the bowl again. "Now that you are back to reality, open your mouth and drink this."

Sakura turned her eyes away from her blackening mark and stared at the spoon near her mouth. Obeying the Sanin, Sakura opened her mouth and gulped the entire liquid down. Sakura's face immediately scrunched up with disgust as her lips pulled away from the spoon.

Shizune could have laughed at that moment until when she remembered the time Tsunade brewed her medicines for her while she got injured during a battle with a few enemies. It was preferably the worst day of her life just to finish the whole bowl of bitter liquid.

"This is to replenish the amount of blood you loss. So you better drink finish it." Tsunade shoved the spoon nearer to Sakura's lips.

Mostly, patients that were poisoned during a battle had to also drink medicines which was just to get rid of the excess poison in the body that were not able to extract out successfully. Could that mean Sakura had more of these bitter medicines to drink? Her face crumpled up again before taking a sip of the liquid.

Sakura shook her head inwardly. She's a medic and she knew how medicines were the most important thing needed for speedy recovery too. If she wanted to recover as fast as possible — like how she always urged her patients too — then she should be obeying orders.

Her attention was turned to Tsunade who had handed the bowl to the young apprentice before the blonde stood up from her seat for Shizune to sit. The teenager took the spoon and lifted it to Sakura's mouth again.

Even after Sakura had experienced the painful pinch by Tsunade, she still couldn't believe that she had woke up earlier to find the young and lovable Shizune along with Tsunade talking to each other by her bed.

As the room was filled with nothing but the sipping sound and the clanking when the bowl and utensil knocked against each other, Sakura couldn't help but reminisced the times she had with her two closest female member in her life.

After a while when Sakura decided that she had enough courage to drink the bitterest medicine in the world just by one gulp, Tsunade uncrossed her arm and sat on the bed without sitting on Sakura's leg while Shizune placed the now empty bowl on the table.

"Alright." Tsunade straightened her posture, feeling that now was the best time to interrogate the injured pinkette.

"It is Orochimaru." That was not a question but a statement.

Sakura blinked and turned to Tsunade who was scrutinizing her with her honey-colored eyes. Of course, how could she even underestimate how intelligent and quick thinking her master was? She confirmed Tsunade's assumption with a slow solid nod.

"Orochimaru had made a move again." Shizune spoke in a very deadly tone despite having such a cute and innocent looking face.

Tsunade was not pleased to hear her former teammate appearing in the very same town as she was in. It almost disgusted her in deciding to leave the fire country and moving away. The fact that Jiraiya pursuing the snake summoner still didn't make any common sense to her when it was their sensei that banished him from the village.

The blonde sat silently on the bed and stared at her wounds, moving her eyes swiftly across Sakura's body.

It certainly pained her heart when so many people were suffering under Orochimaru's selfish clutches. She didn't know what exactly did he want by gaining immortality and learning so many jutsu when every precious people in his life were long dead.

That wasn't the only reason why she hated him, it was the experiments that actually sickened her the most. Toying with people's life and making it to his own beneficial purpose only, she really detested people who took human life as a joke and insignificant.

When Tsunade realized Orochimaru had used her grandfather's DNA and injecting them into all those poor innocent life, it made her swore that she would kill him when he managed to find him.

Even when Jiraiya promised to bring Orochimaru back to Konoha to start anew, the blonde would never accept the fact that he had killed so many lives for his purpose. So while Jiraiya was searching hard for his comrade to get him back to the correct path in life, Tsunade would not hesitate to kill him in sight.

Tsunade finally made an eye contact with Sakura once again, her beige colored eyes staring right through at the pair of warm emerald-green.

"We want to-"

The door suddenly swung open, revealing the grumpy redhead who was not in his best mood at that point.

"Sasori!" Sakura blurted out, turning her attention to the said man standing outside. All these while she had been wondering where the puppeteer had gone when she woke up. But her two family-like members were by her side and she didn't have any time to think about anything else other than realizing that they had managed to meet and cross path each other in the past.

"Sasori." Tsunade turned her head, registering his name into her mind before realization dawned over her.

"Sasori of the Red Sand." She smirked, looking at the near adult who was gazing at her cautiously.

"I'm sure by now, you know who's the culprit for hurting your friend here." Tsunade gestured at Sakura.

Sasori's fist clenched even harder. All the way when he was stomping back to the inn wasn't a pleasant journey, even mentioning about the snake bastard had his blood boiled once again.

Fixing pieces and assumptions in her head, she casually said, with a little bit of wariness towards the redhead. Although Tsunade didn't know the redhead well, he did made a famous name during the third world war and even before the war happened. And also, there might be a chance that he had inherited some of his grandmother's genes by jumping towards her opponents wildly, like the incident when someone mentioned about Konoha White Fang on the battlefield and made Chiyo went wild with anger.

"I have scores to settle with the same person you might be looking for." Tsunade crossed her arm slowly.

"Orochimaru." The blonde confirmed.

From the beginning when Sakura called Sasori's name, Tsunade had been the one talking to him, having no answers from him at all.

Sasori's eyes narrowed to a very dangerous slit. His eyeballs shifted and landed on the pinkette who was staring worriedly at him. Her head was bandaged and one side of her cheeks was band-aided, with a few bruise and cuts on her arm too. The other bandages were either covered by Sakura clothing or hidden under the bed sheets.

Sasori entered into the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

"What does Orochimaru want from you?" Sasori questioned Sakura, completely ignoring Tsunade's presence.

"And why are you asking me this?" There was a small pause before Sakura said casually. "You should know fully well yourself."

Sakura absolutely had no intention in wanting to make Sasori guilty or blaming him for ended her like this, but the words that slipped out completely contradicted what she was intending to mean. And it seemed that her skills at speech indeed failed terribly when Sasori looked away almost immediately, as if he was really assigning all those faults to himself.

"Work with me." Tsunade continued while Shizune stepped forward and nodded furiously.

"And why should I?" He breathed out, his eyes still fixated at the same spot when he had turned away from Sakura.

Tsunade stood up from the bed. "I have not come across with someone who hated Orochimaru like you." She admitted before continuing. "And just by sensing that amount of hatred you possessed, I have my utmost faith that we can get rid of Orochimaru easier than doing it individually on our own."

Sakura gasped inwardly at that very word she heard Tsunade said.

Hatred was the one that pulled Sasuke away from her. The hatred he felt for his brother caused him to follow Orochimaru, to gain power and kill his brother.

It's true. Hatred was something that made someone stronger, but it was all just a brief moment only. When hatred's gone, all you could find afterwards would just be despair.

Sakura bit her lips uncertainly. Why was Tsunade suggesting Sasori to use his hatred to get rid of Orochimaru? It didn't make any sense.

But then, what if this was the correct path they should have taken from the start?

Suddenly, something clicked in Sakura's inner mind.

Meeting Tsunade and Shizune was not so surprising when she had even managed to come in contact with Kakuzu, Orochimaru and even Chiyo. But this couldn't be pure coincidence.

With Kakuzu gone and Tsunade and Shizune appearing right before them, this could actually be the changed future that Sakura was trying to find. The path they had been taking was leading to the encounter between Tsunade, Shizune and them to change this together.

This must be it.

"We'll cooperate." Sakura raised her opinion.

"There isn't any room for discussion about this." Sasori sneered. "I don't need any help."

"Yes." Sakura scowled back at Sasori, which reminded Shizune of Tsunade having a hung over.

The pinkette continued to speak, refusing to break the firm eye contact with Sasori. "There's tons of discussion to be made about the plan to set off together."

Tsunade and Shizune just blinked in unison at Sakura before looking back at each other, seeming to feel a déjà vu around here.

0o0

Someday, Sasori would definitely check to the bottom of this matter on why was he stupidly giving in to his companion when he should be the on controlling the situation.

_Must be those soldier pills she forced me to eat while travelling._ The redhead grouched inwardly. _She must have done something to it to make me actually listen to her._

The redhead kicked onto the ground and continued walking, trying to find more reasons what had changed him from a complete stubborn, impatient man to what he was now.

However, the answer definitely wasn't because of the harsh glare Sakura directed at him. Those were not even intimidating enough to scare him at all.

Sasori ruffled his hair as he strode nearer to the sound of water gushing. His thoughts often lingered to the pinkette and her injuries she sustained during the fight.

_Maybe this is the best after all._ He slightly smirked, staring ahead. _I don't have to worry about her injuries when two medics are by her side._

Trying to push away the thoughts, Sasori decided that he's going to rest at the riverbank, clear his thought, get some fish and head back to the meeting place before the sun sets in an hour or so.

0o0

That was surprisingly easy.

When they first met, Sakura knew how stubborn and persistent the redhead was. And to convince him successfully to this deal was a miracle for Sakura since she thought she would fail at the start.

_Is he planning something?_ Sakura couldn't help but wonder. _It must be the case, if not… why did he give in to me so easily?_

Sakura bit her thumb as she started walking in circles. "He wants Orochimaru's life, that's quite obvious." The pinkette then stopped on her track and stared up to the sky.

"Did he agreed with me just because of that?" Sakura frowned in disbelief. "He made a deal with Tsunade because he wanted Orochimaru's life?"

_No. I have to think deep._ Sakura crossed her arm and went back walking in circles again. _I have to imagine myself as a mature adult who seeks for something during his journey._

The four of them had started travelling the very next day since the plan. Deciding it was the best to only travel a short distance and remained close to the village, they stopped when night falls and settled just a few miles away from the town in a clearing they found. Sakura slept in right away due to exhaustion and to wake up to find it was late afternoon already.

Everyone was gone, only leaving her in the forest with a thin blanket over her shoulders. A few battle scenes with Orochimaru and his subordinates did flashed across her mind when she realized she was all alone in the forest. Wanting to get up to find them, she noticed some writings on the soft ground beside her. The person must have used those thin branches to carve the words onto the soft sand so they could communicate without waking her up.

"_Tsunade-sama and I are setting a few traps and finding some herbs to brew. I'll come back as soon as possible so we can head out to get some woods for the fire."_

The only other person who used honorific terms to refer to Tsunade would be Shizune so Sakura presumed the one who would come back soon to get some woods would be none other than the bubbly teenager.

Her green eyes were soon drawn towards another writing a meter away from Shizune's.

"_Getting food."_

There, was Sasori, probably being forced to move around by Tsunade to get food before the two medics decided to leave Sakura alone. It didn't mean much to her until she realized the reason for him to be listening to Tsunade without picking up a fight might be just because of her.

She had gained back quite an amount of chakra as she decided to heal some parts of her serious injury on her own, but she made sure she didn't use up to much in case she needed her chakra for emergency. Leaving only some light scars and bruise visible on the outside to prevent the two skilled medics to suspect anything, Sakura stopped her healing and started to rest again.

And when someone, _anyone_ was left all alone by himself or herself, they could start thinking of many sorts of stuffs. And that very one thing that was bothering Sakura for quite sometime resurfaced as she started debating the reason why Sasori gave in to her so easily without an argument.

_Then again, why does Sasori want to kill Orochimaru — now?_ Sakura finally stopped walking in circles, staring at a shady tree a few meters away from her.

_He had chance before — why now?_

Sakura's hand then lifted to the bandage still covering the side of her cheek. The memories that suddenly flashed across her mind didn't consist of anything related to her fight, but it was images of Sasori carrying her to Tanzaku Town and ordering her not to die before him.

_"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. I couldn't protect you."_

Sakura blinked profusely. Now that her memories before she fainted started flooding in, she still couldn't fully register those words could actually come out from Sasori's mouth.

_H-He apologized to me? _ Everything around her seemed to be a little dizzy as the pinkette took in a deep breath, slowly trudging to the tree and calmly sat down, making sure not to hurt her injury on her back. She closed her eyes, stretching her legs out and putting both of her hands on her lap while slowly leaning back on the tree. Sakura silently tried to remember every single thing that happened right after Sasori managed to find her.

As more images steadily returned back to her, realization slowly occurred to her.

_Sasori cared about me…_ Sakura spoke inwardly, her eyes still remaining close. She didn't want those images of Sasori's concerned eyes to disappear from her. Those emotions firing in his eyes felt so lively, so…

Human…

Must she have to get almost killed again just to see him worrying about her? Why couldn't he treat her right instead of mocking her and reprimanding how useless she was when she was capable of breaking down a huge building in just one hit right before his eyes?

Then again, why was she being like this? As if she was yearning for his attention that much to even thought about getting all injured again to see him worried about her. Getting attention was something Ino and her were always trying when Sasuke was at the scene, but it had already been four years since she even tried to get anyone to notice her.

But Sasori… he-

"You've slept for more than 10 hours already, that's actually splendid for a ninja, even when he or she is hurt."

Sa-Sasori?" Sakura spoke, recognizing his voice as she fluttered open her eyes and gazed at the man who was standing before her.

"At least make yourself useful and get some wood or something." He said, walking to her side and sat right beside her as Sakura watched him with her two curious eyes.

"I'm just waiting for Shizune-san to come back." She defended herself. And there, this redhead jerk had to accuse her for being useless when she's being productive by warming the tree she was leaning on.

"Hn." Sasori stared up at the sky as a silence ensued between them.

For a while, both of them were just keeping quiet and enjoying the small breeze that often blew by. Sometimes, Sakura had to comb her hair back behind her ears to prevent them to irritate her eyes. She then made a mental note that she should cut her fringe soon when she returned back to her home. _Ino is a good hairstylist after all._

"Sometimes, I doubted the fact that you managed to kill me."

Sakura spun her head and stared at the redhead who was looking ahead, his eyes were distant, as if he was deep in thought. When Sasori spoke, Sakura thought she was hallucinating since he had never ever talked to her first at anything since usually it was her who started the conversation. But as she regained her composure and taking in the words that left Sasori's lips, her brows slightly turned into a frown.

"You don't believe me?" Sakura asked calmly.

"No. I believe you." The puppeteer turned to Sakura, his usual cold and calm eyes staring back at her too. Sakura had learnt to get use to those eyes she distasted at the start. The way he always stared at her with those emotionless yet beautiful eyes sometimes made her wonder if he actually hated her, but then he had always regarded everything around him as something insignificant, even her.

Not until that very day she was dying in his arms then he finally showed an emotion Sakura never knew he would ever display to anyone at all.

"I just couldn't believe you could beat me with how naïve you are."

"Naïve?" Sakura frowned, those images and words Sakura seen and heard a few days ago when Sasori was carrying her to the village immediately shattered in her mind. She just couldn't understand what was wrong with him all of the sudden.

Sasori inwardly sighed. "Even with the times we spent together…" For a moment, Sakura thought his eyes had sparked with a sort of emotion but when she blinked, it was gone. Maybe it was just the effect of the sunlight.

His words then trailed off as he looked away and his eyes became distant again. The redhead blinked slowly once and he turned back to her again.

"You still don't understand how I feel all along…" He mumbled, his tone much softer and soother this time.

"How you feel?" Sakura gazed at Sasori with a puzzled frown before breaking into a smile as she sheepishly turned away. "It's not possible for me to know-"

Sasori's warm hand then touched her bandage on her cheek, forcing her to turn to him. Her eyes were only fixed on his hands that were caressing her cheeks, not believing that the redhead would even touch her at all.

When she was about to look up at him and demanded the reason for his action, he leaned forward silently and locked his lips with hers.

Sakura widened her eyes and blinked furiously, gazing shockingly at the redhead who already had his eyes closed. Her breath hitched as their kiss deepened and she slowly closed her eyes, devouring the small moment between Sasori and her.

"Sasori…"

As Sakura slowly opened her bright emerald eyes, all she saw was a couple of fallen leaves on her two legs that were extended out while she was leaning on the tree.

It took Sakura almost five seconds to understand what was really happening.

"It's just a dream." She muttered, closing her eyes before opening to make sure what happened previously was indeed a dream.

"And there I thought it was real." Her tone tainted in disappointment, although she never noticed that herself.

Sakura sat up straight and stretched her arms and wiggled her toes. Her hands then slowly reached out to her lips as she inclined her head to one side.

"But this feeling…" She then gave a small smile, shaking her head slowly.

"And there you are, Haruno Sakura, thinking about something that will never happen." The pinkette chided herself while brushing off the leaves from her knee and resumed back to lean against onto the tree, wondering when would her other comrades be coming back already.

However, Sakura didn't seem to notice the young teenage medic who had arrived a while ago, hiding behind a tall tree and staring in shock at what she witnessed before.


	10. Possessing!

_'Fairy-God Father'  
>Thoughts<em>  
>"Speech"<em><br>__"Flashbacks" _

**Lost Year**

Possessing!

Forget the risk and take the fall,  
>if this is what you want then it's worth it all.<p>

"I've found a great spot to get some woods." Shizune said happily to herself as she marked the spot where she noticed all the fallen branches that was greatly suitable for making a fire later on.

Skipping back cheerfully like a happy-go-lucky child, she finally reached the clearing that they had decided to stop for the night. And easily, Shizune noticed the pinkette leaning against a tree with her legs sprawled out.

"Saku-"

Before Shizune could even finish calling out for Sakura's name, a certain redhead suddenly appeared into the view while holding onto a large leaf with a couple of fishes piling up on top of each other near to his chest. The young girl stopped her tracks and quickly stepped into the shadows, hoping that Sasori didn't notice her presence.

He set the leaf on the ground and slowly squatted beside Sakura who was still dozing off and oblivious to the close distance between herself and the redhead. Sasori stared at her for quite a while, and sometimes he would then comb her long fringe behind her ears when the breeze blew it across her face.

As courage slowly came back to him, he started leaning forward, making sure that he wouldn't wake the pinkette up while doing so. Even after their lips had met for a few seconds, Sasori had failed to notice that another person was actually standing less than a hundred meters away, staring in amazement at what was going on.

Shizune released the basket of collected herbs as it dropped with a soft thud, loud enough for the redhead to realized that someone other than him was at the scene,

Flinging open his caramel-colored eyes, his head turned to the direction of the sound before he raised his eyebrow in surprise while staring calmly at Shizune's back view as the medic continued praying that the puppeteer didn't see her at all. Sasori just gave a soft scoff before moving away from Sakura to pick up the food he collected.

After standing up from place, he stared at Sakura for a few more seconds before turning to the younger medic again. Sasori just frowned at Shizune's stupid and obvious behavior before trudging away quietly and away from the clearing they were in.

Right on the cue when Sasori stepped into the shadows, Sakura slowly stirred in her position and finally woke up from her quick nap. She blinked a couple of times and stretched, looking around confusingly afterwards before touching her lips and mumbling some incoherent words that Shizune couldn't hear from the distance.

Shizune was always there to witness her uncle and Tsunade-sama acting just like a couple when they were together, yet she didn't know why was she so stunned to see Sasori kissing Sakura secretly under that beautiful sunlight.

She gulped inwardly for a few times before walking out from her hiding and picked up the basket before strolling towards Sakura who had stood up from her position when she had spotted the younger medic coming towards her.

"Getting some firewood?" Sakura beamed, oblivious to everything that just happened to her.

Shizune glanced warily at the last place where she seen Sasori before forcing a smile in front of Sakura.

"Yes, let's go!"

0o0

They had travelled for two days, and their distance from the town was getting further and further and they all knew they would be getting higher and higher chances in endangering their life if they were to get ambushed by Orochimaru and his people. The four of them could handle themselves perfectly, but having Orochimaru as an opponent served Tsunade and Sasori a major problem, and having a casualty by their side could lead to a possibility of holding their companion as a hostage.

For the past one hour while they were resting in a small spot they found to have a break and eat, any attempts to start a discussion were given up, excluding Sasori who was mostly responsible for killing all the conversations.

The redhead would often shot glares at the raven-haired girl who looked away quickly, finding some medical subjects to talk to Tsunade. She would be glaring back if it was at any other occasions, but really, she was the one at fault for staring at him in the first place and his glares could actually rivaled with her master's terrifying ones.

"Bathroom." Sakura often declared when the situation between the four of them was too tense to ignore. She then stood up steadily and wobbled towards one direction without waiting for anyone's consent. To be around with Tsunade who preferred peace and quietness during her break and Sasori who loved silence when he's still alive and breathing, Shizune knew it's better if she were to stay in her position with her mouth shut.

And only when Tsunade finally speak, her apprentice dared to lift her head from the ground to stare at the two well-respectable Shinobi who were sitting opposite her.

The blonde glanced at the redhead with a stern look that made Sasori serious along with her. She casually lifted herself from the ground and looked down at Sasori. "Come with me. I have something to speak to you." That wasn't a suggestion but an order.

Knowing it wouldn't be smart to ask the reason behind this action now, Sasori did what the famous medic told him to do and followed her into the shadows of the tall trees that were swaying along with the breeze. Tsunade's apprentice just watched them go, and by observing Sasori's back view vanishing into the shade made Shizune recalled that very incident which only the redhead and herself knew in the world.

Shizune broke the twig into half and threw it away, mindlessly reaching for another long branch that was a meter away from her.

She continued poking onto the black patch that was on the ground, previously left when they started a fire for roasting their fish. Now Shizune was lazily complaining about having to go and find some more woods to set up another fire in a few hours time just for the night.

"Where's Sasori?" Sakura appeared back to the large space after she was done with her business, searching for any sign of the redhead before realizing her master was gone as well.

Shizune gave a shrug before snapping the stick into two.

Sakura sighed, slowly limping towards her before sitting back on the ground.

Sasori had been acting weirdly for the past two or three days, and when Sakura tried to ask him what was wrong, he either shrugged indifferently or just waved the question off and asked her to keep quiet, and it was already quite nice of him because he had never ordered her to shut up instead.

"Do you mind a question?" The younger medic scooted herself closer to Sakura as she placed both of her hand on the other teenager's arm. Shizune's hand then glowed with green chakra as she started healing some of Sakura's minor scratches.

Sakura had been secretly healing her other injuries a few times, and to think that Tsunade and Shizune were proud of her fast healing when the pinkette was practically cheating behind their back.

She inclined her head and shifted her head nearer to Shizune's face so they could both see each other's eyes.

"What is it?"

There was a hesitant pause, but Shizune easily covered it with her tone tainted with confidence. She lifted up her head and their eyes met. Black and green.

"Are you and Sasori a couple?"

Sakura straightened her posture, but both of their eyes were still locked together.

"No." She started glancing around nervously, hoping to find something for her to stare at so she wouldn't have to meet Shizune's questioning gaze.

"Really?" Shizune gave an unconvinced snicker, moving her healing hands towards Sakura's ankle.

"I'm not lying. We're just companions using each other during our travel for our own benefits." The pinkette's tone sounded a little more serious.

Shizune started chortling. "Still unconvincing. You know you need to buck up your acting skills if you want to be a really great ninja."

Sakura huffed.

"So you two are a couple."

"Shizune-san. Must we really talk about this?" Sakura said uneasily.

"Why? You don't like him?" Shizune's face turned solemn.

"No…"

The raven-haired girl bit her lips and blinked carefully, certainly hoping that Sasori wasn't able to hear what Sakura had said. Even if her answer was fake or not, hearing such an indirect rejection was still very hurtful no matter what.

"Really?" She asked again, inwardly hoping that this could annoy Sakura.

"I don't know, and that's the truth."

Shizune hunched her back and narrowed her eyes. Sakura tried to ignore her gaze but it's been getting very uncomfortable. Sakura would have scolded her for looking at her like that if it wasn't the fact that Shizune was her respectable senior in the future.

"Tsunade-sama." Shizune called out, her full attention turning towards the blonde who was approaching them with that calm looking expression. Shizune had stopped her healing abilities as Sakura turned to look at her master too.

Noticing that Tsunade was in a good mood meant that she couldn't have an argument with the redhead, Sakura sighed inwardly and pushed her worries aside.

Knowing them inside out, Sakura noted that both Sasori and Tsunade would never be on good terms because of their attitude that could easily caused a conflict, and the incident when the two of them were arguing about a trap they had set up just yesterday proved her point.

"Where did you and Sasori go?" Sakura tilted her head and glanced behind Tsunade's back, but no redhead was found.

"To talk about things." The blonde replied. Judging by her short answer and tone, both of her apprentices knew that the conversation about what she had really done a while ago didn't want to be mention again.

After a few minutes of other conversations, the blonde turned to Sakura and spoke. "You can go and find him if you want." Tsunade suggested, noticing Sakura's shifting restlessly in her position. "Just don't strain your injury too much."

"I'm not going anywhere." Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, glancing at the direction Tsunade had come back from unintentionally.

_Oh, you're so not obvious, Haruno Sakura._ The pinkette reprimanded herself, moving her eyes away quickly and tried her best not to make herself stupid in front of them anymore.

"The whole world knows that both of you like each other, yet the only people who are still in the dark about it is the two of you." Tsunade gave a small smile.

"What?" Sakura's cheeks started to burn in embarrassment. Seriously, What on earth had she done to make them think that both of them should be a couple in the first place?

"Yes, the whole world knows." Shizune nodded her head enthusiastically, couldn't believe Tsunade's words could waver Sakura's true thoughts for the redhead. This entire romantic relationship was certainly none of their business, but both of them were just not willing to see such a couple like them could be perfect for anyone else.

"Believe this..." The blonde stared calmly and sincerely into Sakura's eyes, like how she always did when she asked Sakura to be safe in a mission behind the Hokage's desk. Before the kunoichi could argue, the Slug Princess interrupted.

"I've been your age once and I know what does it feel like to be confused in love." Tsunade closed her eyes wisely.

"Where's Sasori anyway?" Sakura asked, hoping that this could help to change the subject if they were to start talking again. Something about what both her two closest members in Konoha had said was making her feeling nervous and embarrassed.

"He said he want to cool himself down somewhere." Tsunade shrugged, absently grabbing the air just above the ground. Damn, she really missed her sake.

There was a long silence afterwards and none of them said anything. Not that they wanted to be quiet because they were tired or anything, it's because both Tsunade and Shizune just wanted to give Sakura some peace to think through before deciding on the matter.

Sakura abruptly stood up and gave a stretch before glancing around, pretending not to care what her teacher had told her before.

"I'm taking a walk. My legs are getting stiff for not moving around lately." The pinkette pointed at a random direction, not sure of where she was planning to go too.

"Don't wander off to far." Tsunade warned just like a mother to her child. "Signal us if anything goes wrong."

Sakura nodded once and went ahead.

Knowing how much Tsunade cared for her even though she didn't know the truth to their relationship in the future made Sakura heart fluttered with gratitude. For once, she didn't know if she was happy that she was in the past with Sasori and the rest or actually in the future with all her friends and family, who actually knew who she was instead of having to be someone who did not exist in this foreign world.

_Maybe both._ Sakura thought as she continued her slow pace through the forest, her mind often straying to the redhead who she had travelled with for a few months.

0o0

It took the kunoichi quite a while to locate him because he had hidden his chakra signature on purpose so that no one could find him.

But something inside Sakura made her wander off aimlessly and towards the lake she had never seen before in the fire country, yet she seemed to know where exactly to go to find the redhead who she was searching for the past twenty minutes.

Sasori was sitting with his legs crossed and hands dangling on his thigh. Although Sasori had never turned to acknowledge Sakura's presence, she knew he had noted that the medic was already there.

"Sasori."

"…"

"Do you mind if you could turn around so I can speak to you, face to face?"

Sakura could hear a soft scoff and a few doubtful movements made by the skilled puppeteer before he finally decided to turn his head to stare at her with his dull eyes.

"What?" He softly growled.

And because Tsunade and Shizune's words had to start sounding in her mind now, Sakura was not aware of Sasori's irritated expression but instead some other details that she had failed to notice even when they were together for the past few months.

Like how his long and black eyelashes fluttered whenever he blinked at her for saying something stupid.

His messy red hair that seemed like he had got out of bed and he was just too lazy to comb them, yet this hairstyle didn't seem inappropriate to be walking around anywhere in the public at all.

And how weird it seemed when his cold eyes suddenly weren't as emotionless as Sakura thought it always was as her perspective about his gaze instead was distant and lazy, but not cold anymore.

His lips that always appeared a single line no matter what kind of situation they were in. Supposing during a happy or an upset situation, he would always give that standardized unhappy look that made him looked much more stricter even when no one knew his personality well.

"What?" He repeated.

Sakura was immediately snapped back to reality after Sasori had called out for her, maybe twice since he still hadn't sounded too irritated to be calling her thrice or more.

"I was wondering for quite a while..."

"What?" For the past three times when Sasori opened his mouth, the only word he had said was _what_ and it's starting to annoy Sakura.

"You seemed distracted ever since your came back from your fishing adventure few days ago. Is something wrong?"

"I've said before, it's none of your concern." Sasori went back facing the water.

And there she was, wishing that she could lend Sasori a listening ear if he had any problems that needed to tell some one about it. But Sasori, the future-S-ranked criminal definitely didn't need any comfort from anyone, and definitely not from a certain pink-haired girl.

He's _Sasori_. And people named_ Sasori_ would not go around chit chatting about feelings and stuff.

Sakura scratched her head and took a deep breath, not wanting the long walk from the forest to the river to be wasted. At least she should try something and make Sasori to talk about things. _Anything._

"Was it because of that day-" Sakura bit her lips, making sure to phrase her sentences properly. "That day when you brought me to Tanzaku Town."

"No." Sasori stiffed. "Go back. I want my peace and I presumed Tsunade had already directed the message to you."

"Why do you have to always push me away?" Sakura ruffled her pink hair in exasperation while glaring at his back.

The point where Sasori's attempt to piss her off with his rude answers was driving her entirely insane, not to mention the things that Tsunade said had also been occasionally repeating itself in her mind like a broken recorder.

She wasn't directing her frustration at Sasori, but she was just sick of being unable to comprehend Sasori anymore even when she knew the reason he had left Sunagakure, why he had sought this path and what he was trying to turn himself into.

Sakura was trying to stop him from turning into someone she had met in the future when they battled, yet for some odd reasons, she didn't want to do this all because she wanted to change the future, but it was because she wanted to truly help someone she cared about and stopping him from going to places where she couldn't follow.

"I-I just don't understand what's with you!" Sakura finally yelled out loud.

"Oh really?"

She took in by surprise at his fast response.

"Neither do I understand you too." Sasori slightly turned his whole body and stared back at her. His eyes were not freezing cold or flaming with hatred. He was just staring at her with his pair of empty eyes that was filled with no emotion; nothing.

"You might think why would I even bother to waste my time to figure you out, to know what you are thinking and feeling. However, something deep inside me is dying to know everything about you." Sasori jabbed his thumb into his chest, his brows slowly turned into a frown as he continued.

"Why do you always laugh and smile so openly at every little things around you, yet sometimes you always had that sad gaze whenever you think no one is looking your way."

"You-"

"And the point where you like to squeak like a chipmunk when you sleep while your growl like a tiger when you're awake."

Sakura blinked.

"Nor do I understand the fact that you dislike getting some tan yet you are not afraid of being so spontaneous in fights and getting yourself all injured and bloodied when we are ambushed by some thefts or hunters."

"Sasori..."

"But the most confusing thing I wanted to know from the very first day I met you is, what the hell do you possessed to make myself, fall for you?"

At that moment, Sakura's heart scrunched up and her chest tightened with a sort of pain she couldn't describe. The words that left Sasori's mouth was as though she was just given a tight slap.

Sasori's closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breathe before he turned back and face the water again, his back straightened and both of his hands on his lap, seeming to be meditating.

The only sound that both could hear was the sound of the water flowing down the riverbank and towards the waterfall a few kilometers away.

"_Sakura-san! Accept my youthful love for you!"_

"_Sakura-chan! Would you like to go for a date with me? I'll treat you Ramen!"_

The number of times the said girl had been asked out for a date was almost as uncountable as the times when she had to explain her hair color was natural, although finding just one excuse was enough to indirectly reject them all.

"_I'm sorry. I have other things to settle in the hospital."_

One of the many reasons why Sakura didn't want to go down the romance path was she was afraid she was going to get hurt again even though she was sure no one else in Konoha would treat her the way Sasuke always treated her. When her very first love heartlessly refused to accept her affection other than being kind enough to leave her on the bench, it killed her so much that she could have sworn her heart and feelings were all melted away, leaving only the will and perseverance in becoming as strong as her two other teammates.

"_Feelings do sway, Sakura-san."_

The kunoichi could remember tons of encouragement given by some of her friends and classmates who she awkwardly didn't recognize when she was sitting alone on the bench by herself after Sasuke's disappearance.

"_You'll find a better man."_

"_Forget Sasuke. One day you'll definitely find someone out there who will treasure you like how you would appreciate him one day."_

_How ironic._ Sakura smile humorlessly as she continued staring at Sasori's back.

_No one had mentioned time travelling._

For so long that Sakura could have thought it was years, Sasori gave a soft sigh before he added one last sentence after their five minutes of silence.

"I'm trying my best to push you away because I know the ending that I wanted can never happen, yet I'm such an idiot for having such hope and wishing that everything could end up like what I wished for."

Sakura gasped inwardly, her eyes widened as she realized how her question could have hurt Sasori like how Sasuke could have hurt her before.

_'This boy… had made a same wish as you did 17 years ago before he betrayed his village and left in search for something to forget his loved ones.'_

_What had I wished for? _Sakura lowered her gaze to her feet.

_"I wish, things could be different."_

She turned her head away and closed her eyes tight. Maybe the reason why both of them were chosen to change this ridiculous future was because the two of them could be responsible in making things different for each other.

"_The whole world knows that both of you like each other, yet the only people who are still in the dark about it is the two of you."_

"You're… not an idiot…" Sakura said bitterly, slowly opening her eyes while staring at the ground beside her.

Sakura could use some extremely obvious and fake reasons to tell Sasori he should stop having these delusions like what he said a few seconds ago, but she just didn't know what else to answer or speak.

Was it because she didn't have any excuses to tell him or was it because she didn't want to reject him after all?

That means... what Tsunade had said was actually-

_Even if you're an idiot, Sasori… You're not the only idiot after all… _

"Sasori..." Sakura muttered, loud enough for him to hear only. She was still standing a few meters away from his back and all she could see from her view was a lonesome redhead sitting by the river.

There was a long silence before Sasori finally decided to reply. "What? We're already done with the conversation."

His tone was enough for her to understand that if she were to leave him behind, the next time when they were to see each other, he would not be the same Sasori she met in the past again.

Though no matter how cold and hurtful his words were to her, the pinkette still courageously trudged over to him and slowly fall to her knees, wrapping her arms around Sasori's warm shoulder.

Sasori never flinched or growled at her movement, he just remained still while Sakura heavily rested her chin on the redhead's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Sakura whispered into his ears, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as she often tried to stifle her sobs but to no avail.

He didn't turn back to look at Sakura who was just inches away from his face. His legs were crossed and his chocolate-brown eyes were still looking down at the stilled water.

"Why are you crying?" He asked softly, just like an innocent child.

"I'm sorry." Sakura repeated, shaking her head furiously and biting her lips miserably. Her knees were already screaming in pain for kneeling down on the rough terrain with sharp rocks all over the place despite doing it for just a couple of seconds. But no matter how painful it was, she wouldn't budge away from her position.

The point why Sakura was willing to let her knees be scalped with cuts and scratches was because she noted that this was the very first time Sasori didn't push her away when they made such a close contact with each other. So that means she didn't have any reason to let go of him either.

"Stop crying." His tone sounded slightly impatient as he gave a sidelong glance at the kunoichi.

"I can't." Sakura whimpered. "I can't stop."

Sasori turned away, and looked back at the golden-colored water that was casted by the sunset. "Why is that so?" He couldn't help but asked.

"Because I realized that I'm in love with you too."

No matter how fucked up Sakura felt right now, she couldn't explain how delighted she was to feel so in love. It had been long enough for her to feel so numb and fresh to know how it was to love someone again.

After Sakura had cried a thousand rivers because of her old crush, she knew she had to learn to grow up and face the truth that Sasuke had left for power and may never came back unless he was forced to. As time goes by and four years passed quickly, her love for that Uchiha finally turned into nothing but a sign of kind affection for a squad mate who she should care like a normal friend.

All these while, Sakura thought she would never have the courage to officially love anyone anymore. But finally, someone had proven her wrong, _someone _that she never even dared to think about before.

'_You're in love with him.'_

_I know. _

'_I've warned you.'_

_I know._

_'Never to fall in love with him.'_

_I know._

'_You'll suffer the consequences, my dear Sakura.'_

_But in return, I've finally found the person who I had been searching for. He's not in the future. He's in my past._

'_I know.'_

_And I love him…_

'_I know.'_

_I love Sasori._

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Like I said, I'm a failure in romance, that's why I have been spending a lot, as in A LOT of time editing this before deciding that this standard should be fine, since this is actually written by a girl who had never once been in a romantic relationship before. _Forever alone._

Don't worry guys, I'm keeping this story under 20 chapters and I don't plan to exceed it at all unless it is really necessary. I'm trying to update whenever I'm free so my update timing would be irregular from now on. Keep track of my profile if you want to know more :)

Thanks to all those people who reviewed, favorite and put this as alert too! :D


	11. Listening!

_'Fairy-God Father'  
>Thoughts<em>  
>"Speech"<em><br>__"Flashbacks"_

**Lost Year**

Listening!

Life is like a bicycle,  
>in order to keep your balance, you have to keep moving.<p>

_"Say hi to Shikamaru for me." Temari called out._

_Sakura turned and gave a wave before she headed to the entrance of the gates of the wind village. As the Hokage's most trusted student, Sakura was responsible to deliver an important scroll to the Kazekage personally. For a Chunin, this was quite an easy task, but walking alone for miles and miles under the hot sun right after she had done her mission would be really torturous, so Sakura tried not to be over excited to accept Temari's offer when she had let her sleep in one of their guest's room._

_But of course, Sakura hadn't forgotten, that time when she last came here was to send Chiyo's body and Gaara back to the village. So she promised to herself that when she were to come to Sunagakure, she made sure that she would visit Chiyo's grave before leaving the country._

_Knowing the routes, she finally approached to a dozen of other tombstones which were located at the side path of the entrance. Immediately recognizing the familiar name craved on the stone, she approached quietly towards the grave and paid her respect._

_"It's been quite a while." Sakura muttered, certainly not anticipating any answer at all._

_"You are Tsunade's apprentice, I presume."_

_Sakura looked up from the grave and watched an old man trudging towards her with heavy footsteps and both hands behind his back. She blinked in surprise, not expecting that anyone would visit anyone's grave during a non-festival period._

_But slowly, memories of the people who were present at Chiyo's funeral soon resurfaced as the man who was approaching her was none other that Chiyo's brother, Ebizo._

_"Ebizo-ji-sama." Sakura quickly gave a respectable bow to the elder._

_"What a pity." Ebizo said, staring impassively at the grave after acknowledging Sakura's politeness._

_Sakura raised her head and watched the elder man staring quietly at Chiyo's grave. Feeling extremely tempted, Sakura asked what was it that made him felt a pity. Was it his sister's death? Was it the fact they lost Sunagakure's most treasured weapon? Or was it realizing the Third Kazekage was kidnapped by someone who was actually related to him?_

_"Sasori had such a bright future." Ebizo muttered while shaking his head slowly. "He could have been a great help if he had choose the correct path."_

_Sakura softened her bright emerald eyes and went back staring solemnly at the soil beneath her feet._

_"Naruto. Was that his name?"_

_Sakura widened her eyes and turned to Ebizo again. Realizing he was really asking a question, she nodded her head in reply._

_"From what I've heard from Temari and Kankuro, it was that young lad who had changed Gaara, or was I wrong?"_

_"No, you're correct, Ebizo-ji-sama. From what I see over the past three years, Gaara greatly changed ever since I've seen him before the Chunin exam and after the Chunin exam." Sakura gave a small smile. "Naruto have this weird talent in changing people with his words, and I admired him for that."_

_"Ahh…" Ebizo nodded understandingly before he gave a sad smile._

_"What a pity."_

_Sakura inclined her head, realizing the question she asked about what was a pity beforehand was not replied yet._

_"Why is that so?" Sakura repeated her question that she previously used a while ago._

_He gave a silent sigh and he looked up into the clear blue sky._

_"If Sasori have met someone that could change him like how Naruto was able to change Gaara, how different would the present be?"_

So many things could be different if just one incident was changed. What if someone could stop the Uchiha massacre? What if someone had stopped the Nine-Tail fox to be implanted into Naruto? What if Naruto was able to bring back Sasuke before he had left to train with the Sanin?

There's so many _what ifs_, but was it possible to turn back the time to change these things?

There _is._

"I want to be that person." Sakura sniffed. "That person who has the power to change..."

_"… Agree or not, you don't have a say even if we're cooperating together, we are going according to my way." Tsunade narrowed her eyes._

_"I have nothing to do with Suna and I don't plan to deal with them anymore." Sasori gritted his teeth as he stared at the path where they had both came from the clearing they were resting previously._

_"I know you had some conflicts with the Wind village, that's why you ended up here, pathetic and alone." The blonde growled back._

_"You don't know anything about me and you have no rights to butt into my past and life."_

_"Yes, I don't know anything about you and I don't have the rights to care. But one thing I do know that you like making girls cry." Tsunade bellowed._

_"What do you mean by that." Sasori scoffed, noticing that they were going off topic._

_"If it wasn't for Sakura, I could have lost my temper right there and then." Tsunade crossed her arm._

_"And what does this got to do with her?"_

_"Only bastards make girls cry." Tsunade closed her eyes and pretended not to hear what Sasori said._

_Sasori clenched his fist tighter. "You're pissing me off."_

_"She didn't bawl out her sorrows and showed it openly, I've noticed that she had cried herself to sleep once, right after when you use your words to hurt her." Tsunade challenged her harsh tone with his._

_"It's none of your business."_

_"It's my business." Tsunade flung open her eyes and jabbed her thumb into her chest._

_"I can't tell if your way in showing your appreciation towards certain people is by hurting them or if you just like to do mean things to people." The blonde placed both of her hand back to her side and gave a solemn expression. "The fact that she didn't tell you all these were because she cared about your feelings. She doesn't want you to feel guilty or anything about it."_

_"She cares about you and even I can see it. I won't believe it if you were to say you know nothing about it." Tsunade's face darkened._

_"I'm just trying to push her away. I didn't mean to hurt her." Sasori looked away._

_"What for?" She argued._

_Sasori closed his eyes and sighed._

_"Let me be alone." He muttered._

_"Have the courage, dumbass." The blonde yelled as Sasori trudged away from her._

_He turned and glared at her before shouting back._

_"Shut up."_

Sasori was good at strategies and manipulating things. That's one of the talent he had that brought him to fame. But in relationships, there's no such thing as strategies and manipulations to get that connection right, that's why Sasori never dared to be part of these relationship stuff that would show his weak points to others.

He wanted to be near her, to talk to her, to touch her, to smile like her and to be happy with her. But he couldn't find a way to tell her how much he wanted to be with her, for the rest of the journey, for the rest of his life.

All of these things were what Sasori wished he could do. But without the courage, what's the point of even thinking about it?

_Courage._ He repeated in his mind. _Leave the pride aside._

Sasori braced himself up and raised his hand, wrapping it around Sakura's thin arm that was hanging over his shoulder.

"You already are." He slightly turned his head and whispered into Sakura's ear, which was right beside him when she rested her chin on his shoulder. "You're already the person who has the power to change. To change _me_. And the fact that I couldn't felt any happier was because you said that, you wanted to be that person for me."

It was ringing in her head. Those words that Sasori said were changing into another form of meaning, a meaning that Sakura couldn't felt any more elated after realizing what Sasori meant.

_I'm in love with you too._

"Sakura." The name sounded like a lullaby that Sakura almost failed to realized that it was actually her name. She raised her head as Sasori slowly stood up and gently grabbed onto her arm, lifting her up from the rough ground.

"Sasori...

"Let's go." Sasori stood up, holding onto Sakura's arm to pull her up as well. "It's late, and you need the rest."

0o0

It's funny how every little thing that the person you love did, you'll pay attention to it.

It was just like the old days when Sakura would always watch Sasuke during his training, when he's in class, or even when he was eating or going back home from school. It's like a routine, or a kind of stalking scheme that Sakura had since she was a child till he left the village. This had stopped for four whole years and the feeling of something so magical finally came back to her again.

How soft his features were when he wasn't straining his eyebrows or giving those powerful glares. How his lips parted when he was asleep. It was almost the same feeling of her watching Sasuke before, but it was entirely different than those creepy methods where Sakura had to hide and avoid being suspicious about being seen.

It was like she was allowed to watch him openly without having to worry about anything. She doesn't have to carry any sorts of burden, she could just relax, and be amazed by every single thing he does; even when he's just sleeping.

_'Stop staring.'_

_What?_

_'I said stop staring. You do know that I'm forced to see whatever thing you're looking at too? We've been staring at his sleeping figure for the past fifteen minutes.'_

_Go away._

_'You better heed my warni-'_

_I'm not staring. I'm just daydreaming._

"Sakura, stop staring."

"I said I'm not-"

Sakura turned to stare at Shizune who was squatting beside her. Realizing she was not speaking in her mind but out loud, Sakura glanced away in embarrassment and stared at the fire instead.

"What happened between the two of you?" Shizune changed her position and sat on the ground, leaning on the same tree as Sakura.

The fire crackled and danced along with the wind that blew by once or twice. Night had fallen and everyone was resting to replenish their energy for tomorrow. Tsunade was sleeping at opposite side of where both apprentices were resting while Sasori was sleeping beside her, a few trees away.

"Have you got your first _official_ kiss?" Shizune raised her eyebrow in a childish manner when Sakura didn't answer her question.

"What do you mean by official?" Sakura tilted her head and watched Shizune who was suppressing a giggle.

"You'll know what I mean in the future." Shizune whispered and hugged her knees to her chest. "So did you get your first official kiss?" She repeated the question.

Sakura refrained from rolling her eyes and just shook her head firmly.

"You didn't?" Shizune widened her eyes in surprise and went back resting her chin on her tip of her knee.

"No." Sakura sighed and shook her head.

"So nothing happened just now before you came back?"

Sakura shook her head confirmed again, urging herself not to ask her anything when the pinkette knew she would just shrug off her question.

"That means…" Shizune immediately recalled the incident that happened days ago when she was hiding behind the tree to witness Sasori doing stuff that she knew she could never say, unless she wanted to get brutally murdered or something.

"What a coward." The young medic muttered to herself and stare at the fire before giving a sidelong glance at Sasori. And to the shock of her life, two furious, chocolate colored eyes were glaring back at her.

"Eek!" Shizune gave muffled shriek that slightly shocked Sakura. The pinkette turned and grabbed tightly onto Shizune's shoulder to offer a barrier for her.

"What?" Sakura whispered harshly, hoping that Shizune's sudden outburst wouldn't wake either Tsunade or S-

"Sasori, you're awake!" Shizune tried to speak in a humorous way as she scratched the back of her short black hair.

"..."

"Time to sleep." Shizune announced. She scurried back to her original position which was just a few meters from Tsunade.

"Can't sleep?" Sasori asked plainly after staring at Shizune, making sure that she doesn't even move an inch after she reached her position.

"Yeah." Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Then I suggest that you stop thinking about things and rest your mind. You'll eventually fall asleep." He drawled.

"Says the person who often has insomnia?" Sakura teased.

Sasori just stared at her with a blank look and sighed. "That's because I didn't follow the things I've suggested to you."

"You thought about stuffs?" Sakura moved closer and leaned against a tree that was just a few feet away from the tree that he was resting on.

"Who don't?" He answered dryly.

_What things does he think about usually?_ Sakura pondered as she watched him staring at the crackling fire.

"Let me tell you a boring story, so you can fall a sleep easier."

"A story? A bedtime story?"

Without bothering to explain to Sakura, Sasori began. "There's this boy who has a magic sword, he fight demons and was named a hero after a war."

"One day, he was given a task to save a princess." Sakura beamed as she interrupted.

With a soft scoff, Sasori continued. "He took his magic sword and marched towards the dungeon where the princess was trapped."

"After fighting with countless of demons and dragons, he finally reached the dungeon, but to find the most powerful monster in the universe blocking his entrance." Sakura merrily said.

"But despite how big and scary the monster is, the boy promise that no matter what, he'll never let the princess down." Sasori calmly proceeded on.

Sakura found herself listening and adding to their almost endless story that they both created together. It was really fun and entertaining which in fact, should have made Sakura even more awake. But finally, under Sasori's misty and gentle voice whenever he spoke, she finally found the peace and fell asleep.

0o0

"No sake."

"Alright, no sake."

Shizune called out for a waitress and placed their order in a lone, small eatery shop that was located not far from the clearing where they were previously resting.

"A storm is coming." Shizune stared at the window. "Why didn't Sakura and Sasori follow us here?"

"I've asked both of them to take a walk and get some herbs."

"What?" The apprentice bellowed, but she slapped her hand to her mouth as she awkwardly gave some apologetic looks to the few other customers who were giving them disapproving looks.

"May I know what are you planning?" Shizune narrowed her eyes and watched Tsunade suspiciously.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "What can a woman and a man be doing in the forest under the rain?"

"You knew the rain is going to come?" Shizune said in amazement as the waitress brought the pot filled with tea and two small glass cups for them.

Tsunade poured the tea into her cup in silence.

"I still don't get it. Except for the part where you are just making the both of them sick."

Tsunade set her elbow on the table. "Why don't we just sit here and wait for something to happen?" She lifted up her cup and took a small sip. "And by then, we'll know."

0o0

"There's a storm brewing. I think the amount we've collected would be enough." Sakura stared at the bundles of weirdly shaped plants that were tied up together with a string.

Right after Sakura finished her sentence, light raindrops started pattering on their head and the rain starting becoming heavier and heavier.

"There's a tree cave." Sasori pointed out.

"What an idea for a walk." Sakura lightly joked as they quickly rushed towards the direction of the tree cave.

Diving inside like some young kids jumping into the pool, they tried to find the best and comfortable position and decided to stay it like that since the tree cave was rather small.

The silence was destroyed by the sound of raindrops. It was still peaceful, really, but Sakura just couldn't seem to enjoy it when she couldn't answer a question that she had been pondering for the whole morning.

"Sasori."

The said man gave a side long glance.

"Why do you like me?" Sakura questioned.

"…Hn."

"Why?" Sakura hugged her knees tighter to her chest as the feeling of wanting to know of the answer grew a lot more "Is it because the way I squeak during my sleep?"

"Maybe."

Sakura gave a light punch on his shoulder while he rolled his eyes at her. For a moment when Sasori hadn't spoke for ten seconds, Sakura knew her hope in hearing this unexplainable question could never be fulfill.

"I don't know." Sasori gave a small sigh. He didn't want to answer her in the first place, but something just told him that it was alright to reveal his own feelings and emotions to someone who he could finally trust.

Sakura blinked and stared at him for quite some time. She couldn't blame him for that. Nobody could ever explain how feelings and emotions worked out. But Sasori surprised her yet again when he decided to continue from where he left.

"For a while after I spent my time with you, I just realized that eternal beauty isn't the only thing that I find beautiful in the world anymore." The rest of the answer that he wanted to say was spoken when he laid his calm eyes on her.

Sakura inwardly gasped as a rush of heat surrounded her face.

_Ebizo-ji-sama, you're right._

_How different is he 17 years later and now?_

She could still remember him watching her with that disdained look after he declared that it was annoying for him to waste his time to battle with Chiyo and her. Now, how different was he? How much had he changed?

And with those simple words that Sasori used to explain how important she was, Sakura felt as if she was flying in the sky.

When the redhead turned his eyes away from her, Sakura immediately had the urge to make Sasori stare at her again. She wanted all his attention on nothing but her, she wanted his eyes set on nothing but on her.

_Oh Kami… What is he doing to me?_

In order to shake off her weird feeling she lusted back of her mind, she casually punched his shoulder again.

"So the Sasori I know has turned into such a sweet-talker yet charming Sasori?" She tried to tease him.

"Did the rush of blood happened to diminish your brain cells when you're blushing?"

"I'm not-" Sakura clasped onto both of her cheeks and turned away.

"Hn."

"You're still mean and evil no matter what."

"I hope you know that I don't care."

Sakura rolled her eyes and stared at the bundle of herbs she was holding. Immediately, images of Tsunade and Shizune resurfaced.

"I was wondering why were you glaring at Shizune yesterday. She just asked me a question, there isn't anything wrong, is it?"

"There isn't." Sasori replied casually.

"She seems scared of you." Sakura nodded to herself.

"Everyone is."

"I'm not." Sakura eyed Sasori with a smile. "Remember that."

"Hn." Sasori glance back at her.

_Oh Kami… why is he so beautiful all of the sudden?_

'_I don't think I have to remind you again that I can hear what you are thinking in your mind right?'_

Forcing not knock herself out so that Fairy-God-Father could be quiet as well, she softened her features and watched the rain along with Sasori.

However, one last doubt she had yet to clarify was still repeating in the back of her mind. She inwardly tried to debate whether she should ask or not. But finally after building up the courage, she went ahead to query the question that she couldn't imagine asking any S-ranked criminals at all.

"Have you kissed before?"

There was a long and awkward silence that Sakura couldn't help but wished she could bury her face into a hole.

"…What?" Sasori turned to stare at her with an incredulous look.

"Just answer." Sakura sniffed and rubbed her nose sheepishly.

Almost knowing what he was thinking through that hesitant look in his eyes, Sakura added quickly.

"I know this question is surprising and maybe sensitive." Sakura starting playing with her thumb. "But please be truthful."

_Oh Kami…. OH KAMI… What do I mean by saying: please be truthful?_

"Am I obliged to answer?"

"Y-Yes." Sakura stuttered quickly.

Her stomach fluttered in anticipation as she bit her lips while dreading for the answer. She was just like a kid, asking her parents what movie were they going to watch later, and the kid would always be hoping that it would be some adventurous and exciting show instead of some romance movie that children couldn't possibly understand.

Sasori scooted a little closer to her, although it goes unnoticeable for Sakura.

"Yes, I have." He spoke, his half-lidded eyes staring right through her.

'_What a disappointment, isn't it?'_

_W-Why would I be disappointed? His past romance life has got nothing to do with me._

'_Then may I question why are you trying to hide your real emotions?'_

_You-_

"She's someone you know." Sasori said calmly when Sakura never said anything.

Sakura was snapped back to reality immediately after Sasori's words left his mouth. Green met brown and they just sat there in silence for the past minute, gazing at each other without looking away or even blinking.

"Shizune?" Sakura gasped in horror.

'_You moment-spoiler'_

_I don't know why I said that either._

Sasori gave an inward sigh as he continued staring calmly at the thunderous raindrops.

"She's someone who I want to understand the best."

"Understand?" Sakura blinked slowly

"She's right here." Sasori gave a smirk.

"Right wher-"

And in that moment when Sakura was hoping to not hear yet another disappointed answer, she instead received a kiss that was _officially_ the first one she ever had in her lifetime.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

To compensate with my slow update, I present you my short and sort-of fluff chapter that I attempted for the first time instead of the normal plot stuff that I've already started writing. And that's why, this took me forever to finish. (I'm starting to worry about how on earth am I suppose to handle Remember? which would have more romance stuff inside :X )

To that one person who messaged me on tumblr about Lost Year, thank you so much for that sweet comment! And not to forget all the sweet and very very supportive reviews! I can't count how many times I read them again and again to boost my motivation and complete this chapter :')


	12. Remembering!

**Lost Year**

Remembering!

Don't worry about people in your past.  
>There's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.<p>

"I, have a change of plans."

Kakuzu and Orochimaru stood there in the dark cave, their expression remained impassive but their minds and ears are completely ready for the leader.

"In a few days time, we'll be welcoming a new member to join Akatsuki." The Rinnegan turned to Kakuzu through the mind communication. "Although this doesn't concern you much, the search for Sasori is ceased because I don't want to waste anymore time."

Orochimaru slightly widened his eyes in the dark cave, watching the projection of the leader fading slightly every time he made a move. The leader's eyes, that was the only thing visible, turned towards Orochimaru and glared.

"In four days, I'll contact you and you'll join up with your new partner. Do not make any funny moves until I tell you so."

"At least let me know his name." Orochimaru sneered.

"Kisame." And in that second, the projection gave a buzzing noise and it disappeared.

The snake man gave a snort and watched Kakuzu walking off and towards a corner. It made Orochimaru wonder why didn't he attack even when they were not even a hundred meters away from each other.

A small smirk appeared on his lips as he gave his usual sly look at Kakuzu.

"What do you think? Strangling or stabbing him would be a better method of killing?"

Kakuzu didn't bother to reply or answer. He continued to walk until he reached till the corner and placed his suitcase on a convenient rock right beside him.

Not satisfied, Orochimaru continued. "I'm referring to Sasori, if you don't know what I'm talking about."

He calmly turned and sat his jade colored pupil on Orochimaru who still had this sinister smirk on his face. "I don't care."

"I know you wouldn't." Orochimaru licked his lips as his eyes glint with evilness. "I'm just telling you so you could mourn for them when they die."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and glared. "I suggest you watch your words."

"Watch what? I'm speaking the truth anyway." The ex-Konoha nin gave a relaxed look and right at that moment, his body started to turn into flames. "But I won't betray you of course, who knows, we can be friends in the future." With his last words spoken, he was totally engulfed in flames as he disappeared in the still air within the cave.

Kakuzu scoffed. He started to make a couple of complicated seal as a hole gradually appeared right in the middle of the wall and inside, there were more of those similar suitcases he had with him. The bounty hunter lifted the case from the rock and snapped the lock open, placing the base of the case on his arm.

He paused for a moment and stared at the money that was neatly arranged in the suitcase. Those were the money he got for exchanging both Sasori and Sakura. Some emotions swirled within him, but he completely shut them off as he forced himself to remember how the people he respect and treasure betrayed him without even sparing a thought for him.

Blinking slowly, he took the cover of the case and snapped it shut before putting it neatly into the small secret hole. He then made a couple of different complicated hand signs and the hole slowly disappeared, his money now safely hidden in the Akatsuki base.

No sympathy, no empathy.

Those were the taboos for a Shinobi to have.

Just apathy.

0o0

The rain had stopped hours ago and the gray clouds were cleared, leaving the bright sun burning up the ground with its maximum heat.

Tsunade smiled, taking the herbs from Sakura's hand and checked it briefly before nodding her head. "That's it, it's the correct one."

"Where's Sasori?" Shizune glanced around with a puzzled look on her face. Before Sakura could open her mouth to answer, the young medic's question was soon answered.

"You damn woman." Sasori came out from a large bush and approached the master in medical skills, shoving some familiar looking leaves and took the ones from Tsunade's hand to compare.

Her eyes slowly trailed down, lower down his nose and on… on his lips.

"I found them less than a hundred meter away from our meeting place. And there's like a field of them..." Sasori's rants were still carrying on.

_Those lips…_

Sakura squeaked, literally, and her face became red in an instant as she sheepishly looked away. Shizune looked aback as she narrowed her eyes and watched Sakura suspiciously.

"Sakura." Tsunade gave a stop sign right in front of Sasori's face, ignoring more blunt comments about how fat her palm was and just focused on the pinkette." Did you just give a squeak sound?"

Sasori turned to stare at Sakura who was trying to find something to stare at, but all the image of the redhead were appearing at every corner she was trying to focus on. She shook her head roughly and nodded her head to Tsunade's question. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for anything. I just didn't know someone like you could squeak like that."

"Yeah…" Sakura decided she should just close her eyes so she would stop acting stupid.

"Er…?" Shizune blinked dumbly.

"Oh." Tsunade smirked, before a light chortle escaped from her lips as she put down her hand. She turned to gaze at Sasori with that teasing look, those that everyone would give when their friend's crush was nearby.

"What." Sasori spat.

"Nothing."

"What are you going to do with these herbs?" Sasori returned back to the conversation they were talking about earlier.

"This could help the soup you're brewing to smell fragrant and taste nicer."

"Do we even have the time to brew soups in the middle of a random forest?"

"But we always have some time to blossom a relationship."

Sakura flung open her eyes and stared widely at Tsunade. Sasori did the same too, although his were showing a calmer reaction. Shizune stifled a small giggle even though she knew they were in an awkward situation.

"I'm a little hungry now." Shizune grumbled, rubbing her flat stomach.

"We'll go hunt some animals," Tsunade said to Shizune swiftly while the redhead stormed off and just sat on the ground, "even though this should be a man's job." She coughed loudly and turned away from Sasori who was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed and the entire surrounding blocked away from his mind. The blonde rolled her eyes and softly patted on the two other girls' back and pushed them towards the forest direction.

"Let's go and leave that faggot alone so he could spend some time realizing how stupid he is."

0o0

Deciding to admit she's quite old to hunt for animals and letting the other two girls to hunt for the food, Tsunade leisurely strolled back to the small clearing they were resting at and watched Sasori who was drawing some weird arrows and mathematical problems with a stick on the ground sand. After she approached him to get a clearer view, the redhead stopped what he was doing and threw the branch on the ground.

"I knew it." He muttered, glancing up at the blonde who was giving a weird look as if he was drunk.

"Don't look at me like that."

"I wouldn't if we aren't near the borders of the Wind village."

Tsunade smirked and gave a slow sigh. "You're smart, even if I don't want to admit it." She stared down at the ground and scanned through the sand drawing of a map and the rough calculation of where they were.

Sasori stood up swiftly, his eyes still fixated at Tsunade. "Don't you ever dare to-"

"You should settle down with Sakura and ask for her hand in marriage."

"…What?"

"And then you could be the Kazekage…"

Sasori narrowed his eyes and glared, his stern and unpleasant eyes pierced right into Tsunade's, daring her to continue.

"Annoying."

Tsunade smirked and closed her eyes. "I know plenty of wise and young looking man back in my village, still single and active. I wouldn't mind introducing Sakura to them."

"Do I look like I care?"

"So you don't mind?"

"Why would I? Old hag."

A vein popped out on her temple as she squinted her eyes and stared at the man a little shorter than her, with her hands on her waist.

"What did you say, young man?" She said in a low, dangerous yet soothing voice with a small smile on her face.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called out. By her side was the pinkette, carrying a few food supplies with a weird look on her face.

"What are you two doing?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, we were talking about how wonderful you are." Tsunade wrapped her heavy arms over Sasori small shoulder, enhancing more chakra to add on her arm. He gritted his teeth but tried to remain as calm as possible.

Sakura inclined her head to a side and pointed to herself. "Me?"

"Marriage."

Sakura blushed again. "What marriage are you talking about?"

"Obviously you and Sasori." Shizune raised her eyebrows and wiggled them.

If it wasn't for Tsunade's effort in suppressing his movement with her weight, he could have just thrown his chakra strings and forced Shizune to slap herself.

0o0

"I'm leaving Shizune under your care now, Sakura."

"Where are you going?" Sakura whispered, glancing at Shizune who was sleeping under the dark sky. It was pass midnight and Sasori, who was about to change his shift with Sakura, woke up to find the other two woman having an exchange. He stood up from his comfort zone and approached the two of them.

"It's a small matter." Tsunade gave an assuring smile as she glanced at Sasori before looking back at Sakura. "I may be back around 2 or 3 days. I didn't want to go this afternoon because I knew Shizune will never let me go alone."

"No problem." Sakura nodded her head in response.

"I'll be leaving her in your care. She's a stubborn kid when she gets a little cranky."

Sasori scoffed. "She's cranky everyday."

"…" Tsunade gave a blank look before a huge smile plastered on her face. "I know right." She agreed. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"There isn't any more time, I'll be going." The blonde just stepped away and left, leaving the two near adult Shinobi with a young teenager who was still sleeping like a child.

"Why do I have such a déjà vu feeling?" Sakura gave a soft laugh.

"Remember that kid we took care before? This brat is just like her despite the age difference."

Sakura closed her eyes and started remembering a few childish moments she had with Shizune even when she was almost twice the age of Sakura's in the future. The memoires were then changed to the little girl Sakura took when her mother died; Shana.

"It's my shift now, you can go and take a rest." Sasori found a perfect position and sat down, his legs crossed and his hands resting on his legs. Sakura just watched him from the position she was standing before she walked towards him and sat behind him, resting her back on his.

"I'm not tired anymore." She tried not to let herself look stupid by holding that loud yawn she was about to give. "We can stay up all night to talk."

"Talk?"

"Yup."

"There's a question I have been wanting to ask for a very long time." Sasori glanced at the sleeping figure of the teenage girl before looking back a little at Sakura to see if she was listening.

"What is it?" Sakura blinked, not realizing Sasori was taking the "talking" session so seriously.

"You hate Orochimaru." Sasori's tone got a little more serious. "Why?"

"Why?" Sakura mumbled, her eyes became distant.

_The previous reason was fading… __Another has formed…_

"_I will stop you"_ Orochimaru's face started to blur as her vision turned towards Sasori who was standing near her during the wreckage of the hotel. _"And I will stop you from joining them!"_

"Sakura."

_Orochimaru is going to take Sasori away._

_Just like Sasuke._

_I will kill him if he does…_

"Sakura?"

"Hm?" The said girl turned and stared at the redhead who was looking at her with a weird look.

"You were in daze."

Sakura easily laughed it off and continued even though Sasori was still giving her that weird look. "The question you asked, about why I hate Orochimaru…"

She had her answer, the real answer that was completely different from the reason why she even agree to time travel in the first place, but…

"Uchiha clan. Heard of them?"

"Sharingan. They were pretty well-respected by most of the people from many country."

"Yup." Sakura tried to give a proud look, but her lips were starting to quiver instead. "Not until 8 years later when a member massacred the entire clan, leaving only his little brother alive."

Sasori widened his eyes and straightened his posture, but Sakura easily adjusted her position to lie comfortably on Sasori's back before continuing in the calmest tone she could handle. "His name is Itachi, who would be joining the Akatsuki in the future. Sasuke, his younger brother, is my teammate who left the village with Orochimaru to kill his brother for revenge."

"Orochimaru? Wasn't he…"

"With the information I have, I'm not too sure at the moment. But a while after Orochimaru was defected from Akatsuki, he caused Sasuke to become a person who only lust for power and hatred, changing him into someone I don't know anymore."

Sasori was in silence, his mind slowly registering the things Sakura just told him.

"So here I am, trying to stop you from cooperating with Orochimaru, who would soon gained power through using a person who you sent to spy on him. So all I am doing it trying to stop Orochimaru from getting more power, and taking Sasuke away."

"There should be other ways to change it. Why did you choose this?" Sasori rest his head on Sakura. His soft hair brushing and tickling Sakura's hair as well, she felt so comfortable when he was doing that.

_He sounds just like an innocent child._

"I don't know actually…" She grinned and rest the back of her head onto Sasori's back looked up, watching a few stars flickering in the dark sky. "I really don't know… But all I know is that I want to save them by myself, even if they don't know I exist, I want my life to impact theirs."

Sakura inwardly sighed. "If getting strong by training everyday is not enough, in exchange of my life with their new future is worth it."

"But you'll return to the future where nothing is the same again." Sasori frowned, not really liking the idea. "The friends you loved possibly doesn't know you if the future were to change."

"Of course it would be a terrible feeling to realize the person you love and care with all your heart doesn't knew you existed. But if you really love the person you cared for, you wouldn't have mind to have them enjoying their happiness just to let yourself suffer a little."

Sasori gave an understanding look as he gazed forward, avoiding all means to talk about anything regarding to Sakura's departure. Sakura seemed to sense what he was thinking too, so she remained silent and stared at the silent sky.

"Hn. You knew so much about me," Sasori narrowed his eyes in displeasure, "it would be fair if you were to tell me more about yourself."

Sakura gave a slight giggle, "I'll tell you the things that I remembered the most, I'm not good at memorizing things." Sakura blinked slowly and inwardly counting the number of stars. "I was just seven when my best friend gave me this ribbon…"

0o0

It was the third day since Tsunade left without mentioning anything or where she had gone. Shizune, who had been travelling with her master for so long was slightly worried for her safety since she was never away from her for so long. Sakura tried to remain as calm as Sasori but she was getting a little flustered too.

"Do you think something happened to Tsunade-sama?" Shizune bit her fingernail, her brows furrowed.

"She could have gone to get some sake."

"It's been long since she drank sake." Shizune's attention was drawn to Sakura who was staring blankly at her. "How do you know she have the same habit as any drunkard?"

"Er…" Sakura darted her eyes left and right.

"She's a medic for God' sake." Sasori rolled his eyes at Shizune, his arms crossed over his chest while leaning against a tree. "She's not a child. She'll know how to take care of herself."

"You don't even care for her, so you have no rights to say anything!" Shizune stuck out her tongue. "If it was Sakura who has been missing for three days, I don't even think you'll be standing her and saying all these things."

"I admit I wouldn't." Sasori said, and Sakura awarded him with a blink in surprise. "But at least I wouldn't whine about it."

"Bastard. I still hate you even if you grilled fishes for me to eat." She gave a huffed and slumped onto the floor with her arms crossed. After a while, she started to draw Sasori uglily on the ground and emphasized to Sakura that she was drawing Sasori, not that he actually cared about it at all. After all, deep in his thought, he was mentally stabbing Shizune in the stomach with the stick she was using to draw, so you could say they were pretty much even for being evil.

0o0

It has been a long night. Without Tsunade's presence, both Sakura and Sasori had to take longer shifts to keep a lookout. Shizune was a deep sleeper; even if a war to happen, she might not even know. Only when the sun rises then she would wake up on her own, so the three of them would usually do the shift instead.

Currently it was Sasori's turn. When on guard duty, he just expected silence and no movement in the place he was guarding. But the fact that Sakura had been tossing and turning was a little distracting for Sasori. He didn't really mind about it, but he was wondering why couldn't she sleep when Sakura always seemed so tired lately.

"Can't sleep?" Sasori gave a sidelong glance and stared at the pinkette who was staring at the sky, deep in thought.

The said girl blinked, immediately disrupted form her thoughts. She stared briefly at the redhead and answered. "No, I'm about to." She then closed her eyes and turned to the other side, her back facing him.

Sasori remained staring at Sakura's back as he shifted his gaze away and just stared at the ground before him. He always thought if he were to use just a little skill and thinking, he could unveil Sakura's emotion and understood what she was thinking with her actions. But for a few times these days, he was unable to do so.

He sighed inwardly, closing his eyes as he tried to rest himself and replenish his chakra while taking note of the surrounding for any intruder.

Silence carried on, a soft snore would sometimes come from Shizune, but would immediately stop when there was a shift in her movement. As for Sakura, she doesn't dare to move much in her sleep, or even daring to sleep either since she was thinking about many things that were happening to her lately. Not just because she was worrying about what would happen to Sasori if she were to leave him all alone once she departed and go back to her own world, she was also puzzled about certain health problems that was starting to happen to her a few days before her _big kiss day_.

She would often feel a sharp pain in her chest that lasted for a few seconds when she moved all of the sudden, not just at night. Her breath would sometimes hitch and her vision would get very blur when she was walking on a normal road.

Sakura tried to recall if the symptoms she had was some effects for some illnesses she studied with Tsunade in the future, but she couldn't find an answer.

Neither did the Fairy-God Father reply when she questioned him about it too.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

A chapter with not much of the plot or romance parts. Just some random days passed for them. You could say this chapter is unnecessary, but it just helps with the flow of the story.

Lost Year is ending really soon, in a chapter or two. But most probably just one chapter though.  
>Happy or Sad ending? I have decided that, but you can always guess how I'm gonna end this story. And if I were to find your idea is interesting, I would be glad to write an alternate ending for it.<p>

And I'm so sorry for the slow and short update! I've been focusing too much time on humans who called themselves as my friends. The reviewers that previously reviewed are loved! I'm not really expecting much reviews for this chapter, as it seemed nothing much even happened here.


	13. Beginning!

**Lost Year**

Beginning!

If you keep on believing,  
>your wish will eventually come true.<p>

The small blue and white slug that was resting on Shizune's shoulder was guiding the three of them the direction to where Tsunade was.

They didn't have the time to officially get into Konoha; the village that Tsunade asked them to go, surprisingly, so they infiltrated the village through the back gate as quickly as possible and continued to follow Tsunade's summoned animal's direction.

It was actually midnight an hour ago, which was Sasori's shift to keep a look out for their campsite. But halfway through, a small poof appeared around Shizune's flat chest and all that remained was a slug crawling around her body. He was about to attack, thinking it was an enemy's technique but Shizune literally screamed and jumped up when she felt the slimy liquid sliding across her stomach and tickling her.

They were then told by the summoned slug that Tsunade needed reinforcement immediately back at Konoha. No information or details were revealed any further.

The trio did what they were told, and they took about an hour of very fast traveling from where they were until they reached the gates of Konoha and decided to sneak in.

They got past the quiet village easily, since it was half past one and everyone was alseep at the time and all shops and stores were closed. They rushed over to the tall hill where all the Hokage's face sculptures were done on and towards a small cave where they could already sense some strong chakra in it.

"Look." Sasori quietly pointed at the few dead bodies floating along the the unmoving lake. Shizune gasped in horror before jumping towards one of the men. She flipped him over and put a finger to his neck.

"The ANBU. They are dead." Shizune whispered, standing up and back to her position after trying to check their pulse.

Sakura took out one of her kunai she hid in her heels and prepared her stance. Sasori looked back, glancing at the woods behind suspiciously before himself for any ambush they might encounter.

The slug on Shizune gave a poof and it was gone immediately once it had completed its mission to send the team to where Tsunade was. The three of them went steadily inside the cave, to hear a loud piercing scream echoing in the cavern as they stepped back in shock.

Already acting like a leader, Shizune gestured Sasori and Sakura behind her and glanced over her shoulders, getting the approval by the two of them before they charged in. Right then, the girl yelled in astonishment.

"Tsunade-sama!"

The blonde medic was standing and crouching down before the table with bead of prespiration trickling down her forehead. A lady was lying on the long table, a cloth over the legs and was yelling in pain. Her long, red hair was spread across the table, soaked with her sweat.

Tsunade couldn't move her attention away from Kushina, or the masked man that was standing in front of Fourth Hokage with a deadly kunai in his hand.

"I'll take the Kyuubi." The masked man claimed as he stared at Kushina who was panting and hissing in pain.

"You have to go through me." Minato glowered, his arms spreading out in order to protect his wife from getting any attack.

The masked man glanced back for a second. He took notice of the new intruders through his small eyehole, glimpsing at the other three who were ready to attack. He knew he's at a huge disadvantage, Minato was already a hassle, not to mention Tsunade too. And those three behind him didn't look that bad, or any worse than those ANBU he managed to kill so easily.

He scoffed, looking back at Kushina and the seal on her stomach that was glowing, disappearing, and reappearing again on her stomach. The seal was obviously weaken and the Kyuubi could escaped out any time once Kushina just let herself go. But he couldn't attack, not when five people were against him with no hostage and his Kyuubi still unreleased. He turned and sprinted out in a matter of seconds, surprising everyone with his sudden movement.

Minato looked back at Kushina, abruptly rushing back to her side and planting a kiss on her forehead. "I have to go. It's too dangerous for him to be out there in the village."

"Mi..nato..." Kushina whimpered. "The baby..."

Minato shut his eyes tightly, biting his lips and looked away. He gave Kushina's hand a tight squeeze and he soon departed after the man who just escaped.

"Minato!" Kushina wailed, trying to force herself to look up as she watched her husband disappearing into the woods.

"Shizune!" Tsunade creid out, gaining the girl's attention as she rushed over.

"You know what to do, I've taught you this a lot of times." Tsunade pushed her forward, forcing her to stand right in front of Kushina who was grunting in pain. Shizune looked down and back at Tsunade.

"But it's always with you." She mumbled indecisively.

Sakura stepped forward and stood behind Shizune. She didn't know how to explain about medic skills and how she could be a great help to her, so all she did was to give a light pat on her shoulder. "I'm here. We'll do everything together." She beamed.

Tsunade gave them both a pat on the back as encouragement, still having no idea Sakura was her apprentice in the future. But she still decided to put in faith in both of them. Tsunade looked out of the cave, narrowing her beige colored eyes before sprinting forwards.

"Tsunade." Sasori stopped her. She halted in her step and glanced back hurriedly. "What the heck is going on? He frowned. For the first time he felt so lost in a situation.

"The man is too powerful, I don't think Minato can handle it alone."

"I'm coming." Sasori took a step forward.

"You will stay here." Tsunade glared, turning around and jabbing her finger right into his chest. "There isn't time to argue, listen to what I have to say for once!"

"It's not just you only. That masked man- I can sense he is just as strong, or even stronger than you can manage, or even that Minato guy." Sasori gritted through clenched teeth.

"I know. Minato knows that too. But Kushina is important too. You have to keep guard. That guy is after Kushina's life, the life that is in her. If he was able to escape from us and appear back here again, the three of them and the baby are doomed. You have to protect them."

Sasori clicked his tongue. He ruffled his red hair and glanced back at Tsunade for the last time, showing that he gave in.

"Shizune and Sakura, everything counts on you!" Tsunade shouted. She gave one last look over at Sasori and bolted out of the cave without looking back. She soon disappeared into the woods.

Sasori gritted his teeth. He took a step closer to the opening of the cave with some hesitation, but then a shrilling scream echoed in the cavern, followed by quick pants and grunts. Sasori turned, watching Sakura and Shizune desperately trying to calm Kushina down.

"You can do this Kushina-san!" Shizune yelled, sweat trickling down her forehead and into her eyes. Her small hand was entwined with Kushina's, another patting softly onto both of their hand or comfort. "It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine!"

Sasori exhaled a loud, pressured sigh. He knew if he were to run out of the cave to search for Tsunade and the other two men, the three woman would be dead for sure if any intruders were to give them a surprise attack. But he did truly felt a very bad omen coming from the masked guy that escaped a while earlier. However for now, he had to at least believe in Tsunade and the Yellow Flash.

The direction of his feet turned and he went sprinting towards the table where Kushina was lying and curling up in pain. Sasori stood by her side, watching helplessly at the eight trigram seal appearing on her stomach, disappearing at the moment and reappearing again. The situation they were in now was very bad, very very bad.

"Push! Push!" Sakura yelled, looking up and watch Kushina's belly glow with the seal on her stomach. She gave a soft grunt and continued her words of encouragement to help Kushina go through the labour easier.

For once Sasori felt useless. Sure, he did have some medical skills, making and creating poisons and analyzing them, but giving birth to a child was another thing. He had no idea what to do to help, yet he was sure that if he were to move out, Tsunade would kill him if either of the three women were to get ambushed and hurt.

All he could do was to stare. And he hated it.

"Sasori!" Shizune cried out, surprising the said man immediately. "Grab her hand and give her support. I'll help Sakura."

The redhead did exactly what he was told to. He grabbed onto Kushina's hand and clutched it tightly. Despite his awkward face and position, Sasori tried his best to at least put in effort to help. In all his life, he had been out there in the Shinobi world killing everyone that was his enemy. Now, he's actually helping to the birth of a new life. He glanced at Sakura and smirked inwardly. She was the one that caused him into this heap of mess, however, he had accepted the fact. He still liked those adventure he went through, with her by his side of course.

"Push!" Both Sakura and Shizune bawled. Kushina face scrunched up in pain and she took in a deep breathe and pushed. Followed was a loud scream.

"Baby! The head! We can see the baby's head!" Shizune jumped and looked up at Kushina in anticipation She panted hardly before nodding her head to herself, preparing herself before she gave another push. Sasori could feel the grip on his hand tightened. He held on tighter in return.

"Just a bit more. A bit more! He's already out!" Sakura glanced over Sasori and Kushina. "You can do this!"

They exchanged motivating words with one another, then a loud scream could be heard and the cycle continued. They had no idea how much time passed since Tsunade and Minato and the masked man left, but if they do not settle this before the break of dawn, Kushina would definitely die from infection and blood loss. Sakura already gone through enough experience to know.

Kushina took in huge amount of air and clutched her fist tightly despite Sasori was holding onto one. With a final push Kushina gave, Sakura and Shizune successfully took the baby safely into their arms.

The echo of the screams died down, now replaced by the cries from the blonde baby. Shizune quickly grabbed a clean cloth and wrapped it around the baby while Sakura carefully placed the infant in her arms after soaking him slightly in the warm water Tsunade prepared beforehand.

"It's alright. It's alright." Sakura whispered and danced a little to calm the baby down. Sasori heaved a sigh of relief as he leaned heavily onto the table. This was way more stressful than any other battle he came across in his life.

Sakura continued whispering soft lullaby, but the baby was too stubborn to stop crying. Gaining enough strength, Kushina raised up her hand, stretching it over to Sakura and pointed at the baby.

"Naruto. I want to see Naruto..."

Sakura widened her eyes and turned slowly to stare at Kushina. She could had sworn she just heard her teammate's name, but it was not possible... was it?

"Naruto..." Kushina whimpered.

Shizune nudged Sakura and gently pull Sakura and force her to move to stand by Kushina's side.

"You named him... Naruto?" Sakura softened her gaze as she looked back at the blonde baby in her arms before proceeding to place the baby gently by his mother's side.

As Shizune continued her disinfection process, Kushina started caressing the slightly bloodied baby and ruffled the small amount of blonde hair the baby had. "It was Jiraya-sensei who choose the name. Minato and I found it cute so..." Kushina afforded and weak smile. "Naruto..."

Sakura could have sworn her mind was about the explode. The man she used to know, used to tease, used to hate... was actually the Fourth Hokage's son. The pinkette looked down at the small baby curling himself into a ball, those whisker's look-alike that was marked onto Naruto's cheeks flashed across her mind suddenly when her gaze was set upon the weird looking line marks on the baby's cheek too.

How much she thought she knew, were actually nothing, comparing to how much secrets that she actually didn't know.

"Sakura."

The said girl looked up and noticed Sasori staring intensively at her. Suddenly, her knees wobbled and gave way as she fell, but Sasori caught her just in time she landed on the floor.

He swiftly appeared by her side, pulling Sakura up and get her back to her feet.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired." Sakura managed a smile, grabbing onto Sasori's shoulder for support.

After doing what she needed to do, Shizune helped Kushina up slowly, making sure her wounds would not split apart again and let her cradle the baby in her arms. Kushina took it carefully and hugged him to her chest before looking at the other three.

"Thank you so much." Kushina said in a whisper as she glanced at the entrance of the cave, spotting several ANBU men lying dead on the floor or floating on the water. "I have to find Minato..."

"Kushina-san, are you out of your mind?" Shizune bawled.

"You have to rest and stay with the baby. Naruto can't afford to lose you. He can't." Sakura pleaded, her eyes resting on Naruto before looking at his mother. She knew she shouldn't be ruining the moment but damn, it's awkward to be staring at Naruto when he was barely even a day old while she's like more than a decade older than him.

"I have to agree." Sasori spoke in the calm manner he usually used. "Move around too much and you'll die." That's how blunt he was.

"But-" Kushina glanced down at Naruto with a weary look, "his father is waiting..."

"There's isn't a need anymore."

The four of them turned their heads towards the source of the sound and their eyes were all set upon the man who was walking steadily towards them.

"!"

Right before their eyes was none other than the Fourth Hokage. Followed behind was Tsunade who entered the cave as soon as Minato revealed himself. Kushina gasped and her eyes were slowly tearing.

Sakura face lit up and her lips turned into a grin.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shrieked and pounced right onto Tsunade. The blonde gave a soft pat on her back and smiled. Giving a glance over at Minato before looking at Sasori who was staring questionably at her.

"Madara is dead. We've finished him."

0o0

"Is there anything I can do for all of you?" Minato glanced at the four of them. "I'll do my best to fulfill what you guys want. But Tsunade-sama, you know that the Third Hokage doesn't like your gambling habits so I suggest a gambling den would be a bad idea."

Tsunade smirked. She was really intending to ask about setting up a huge casino for her, but that'll means she would have to stay in Konoha for quite a while to repay her debts that she's definitely going to owe. She didn't want that. "I'm just doing my duty as a medic, and for Kushina."

Kushina gave a cheeky smile, cradling the sleeping baby in her arms. She was immediately sent to the hospital and Kushina and her child got a more precise check up. Both mother and son were completely healthy and her seal was once again strengthened by Minato.

"It is my duty to protect one of my grandmother's clansman, who sacrifice her life and future to host _it_." Tsunade continued as she stared at Kushina with a warm smile.

"It's my duty to help too, as a medic" Shizune nodded her head cheerfully. In the end, she couldn't resist the temptation and immediately scurried to Kushina's side and started poking the baby's face softly.

Sasori remained silent.

Sakura took in a deep breathe and bit her lips. She silently watched Shizune tickling the baby's stomach although Naruto was not able to feel anything and laugh about it. His mother continued having that small smile on her face and caressed his bouncy and soft cheeks while the baby was still sleeping soundly.

She remembered the time when she mocked Naruto in front of Sasuke after their Genin team was choosen, saying he was a stubborn and annoying brat who knows nothing because he didn't have any parents to scold him. Sakura's gaze lowered and her lips started quivering.

Sasori glanced over to the pinkette. His brows furrowed as he watched Sakura being a little quiet than usual. The redhead then glanced back over to Kushina who was carrying the baby close to her arms.

"Naruto... Naruto..." Kushina whispered softly into the baby's ears.

"_I have a teammate who is loud and a little dumb sometimes. His name is Naruto." Sakura leaned against the bark of the tree and continued the memories she remembered and promised to tell Sasori about her life. "There was once when he was so darn hungry when we came back from this mission and went to one famous Ramen stall we have in our village to find it already closed. He literally bawled out crying and end up sleeping on the ground because he was too tired."_

Sasori gave a sidelong glance over at the silent pinkette. He was about to call her when she suddenly looked up at Minato.

"I have a request." She spoke.

All of them in the room turned and faced her. Minato nodded his head, indicating her to continue.

"The Uchiha clan, is one of the most prestige clan in Konoha." She started, and continued after a short pause. "Can the Fourth Hokage protect the clan, at all cost?"

"Protect the clan?" Minato raised an eyebrow. "Of course we would, they are one of the most powerful clan we have, after all."

Sasori watched Sakura silently while she was gave that assured and relief look after Minato had said that.

_Uchiha... Sasuke._

"Thank you. That's all I could ask for." Sakura bowed in respect.

Minato nodded and stepped back, standing beside Shizune and Kushina while he observed his quiet child in his wife's arm. Tsunade continued her exchange with Kushina and Minato, while Sasori and Sakura were leaning quietly against the hospital wall.

_My work is done. The future has changed. _Sakura glanced at Sasori from the corner of her eyes and sighed inwardly. He was staring at Shizune, giving that stop-it-you're-annoying look as the girl continued to poke all parts of Naruto's body.

She tried to smile, to smile at the fact she had accomplished her mission. But she just couldn't. The time she had left with Sasori was limited, and she had no idea when would she just randomly disappear away.

An hour? Tonight? Tomorrow?

She didn't want to know.

0o0

They departed Konoha on the same day Kushina gave birth to her son. Tsunade was the most tired among the four of them, but that didn't mean she was the weakest. She was still able to save quite an amount of strength to fight if it was necessary.

Why? Because she knew that another fight was going to happen again soon.

"For the past three days, you're pretty busy, aren't you?" Sasori narrowed his eyes at the blonde as they were walking towards through the dense forest.

"You can say so." Tsunade glanced over her shoulder. "I want to show you guys this place too."

After another ten minutes of walking, they emerged through the forest and reached a long and wide lake. Across the river was a very steep cliff with a supposing large cave. But the cave was blocked by a massive boulder with a seal sticker pasted in the middle of the rock.

Sakura widened her eyes. She remember this place. It wasn't exactly the location where she fought Sasori with Chiyo in the future, but the set up to protect the cave was very similar to the one she seen in the future.

"I found this lair by myself," Tsunade smirked proudly, "I was intending to ask you guys to join here after I get some back-ups in a couple of says, but something happened in Konoha, like all of you know." She didn't really want to return back to her home village where the death of everyone close to her happened there, but she had to do to for Kushina and her baby. Nothing more.

"Where is this place?" Sasori stared at the huge boulder.

"One of the place Orochimaru has to go." Tsunade rubbed her chin. "The informations I received wasn't really precise, but I'm sure Orochimaru is going to come here. Sooner or later."

"It is." Sakura muttered, nodding her head. "This is definitely one of the Akatuski's hideout."

"Aka- what?" Shizune inclined her head at Sakura.

"Nothing." Sakura smiled back innocently.

They were still standing before the lake, each of them wondering what they should do now. But none of them knew they were actually the ones who was going to get ambushed.

A couple of kunai tied with a bomb tag were flung into their direction. They were able to dodged them easily and the tags exploded in a second after they scattered. They moved quickly from their position, immediately finding the rest and stayed together.

"Well, well. You all ought to find yourself lucky that I'm the enemy you encountered."

When the smoke cleared, the could see a figure standing just opposite of the river, with hsi arms crossed boastfully and looking at them. They got back their vision and immediately recognized who was the one that gave them a surprise attack.

"Oh sure you're right." Tsunade cracked her knuckles and furrowed her brows. "Orochimaru."

"It's nice to reunite again, isn't Tsunade? If only Jiraiya is here." The snake man suggested.

"Joy." Tsunade faked a laugh. Shizune looked at the other Sanin in disdain.

Although they were all in their battle stance. No one dared to move, or speak a word. It was like time had frozen in place and time was still ticking. Even Orochimaru knew he should consider each move wisely before he make one.

"What is this?"

All of them jerked from their position, and glanced everywhere, looking for the soruce of the voice.

"A party?" Kakuzu continued where he had left and appeared right behind the four of them, but nearing Sasori a little more. He glanced at the familiar faces he recognized before setting his eye on Orochimaru who was across them.

"That, wasn't part of my plan." Tsunade muttered, giving herself a face-palmed as she recalled the staring battle she once had with the man in a gambling den. If this guy was actually on Orochimaru's side, her plan would probably be a failure.

"Kakuzu!" Sakura squealed, staring at the masked man who was standing behind Sasori. The redhead turned in surprise and watched in disbelief at the man he thought he would never see again.

"You guys, know each other?" Tsunade whispered across to Sasori and Sakura.

"We're not friends," Kakuzu answered for them. Tsunade died inside, but he still continued his unfinished sentence, "but if you were planning to kill that man with the same cloak as mine, we can be friends for the moment."

Sasori frowned at him, his mouth closing and opening just like a goldfish. "Kakuzu, you-"

"Kakuzu, switching sides?" Orochimaru interrupted. He began making a few hand signs and took his blood, running it down his arm.

"We were never on the same side." He sneered back, preparing his battle stance too. Both he and Orochimaru were suppose to meet the leader and the newcomer at noon, but since he was passing by the place, he decided to rest around here somewhere before the times comes in three more hours. He never expected Orochimaru to come here first, neither was he expecting the other uninvited four people too.

Orochimaru smirked before shifting his eyes to Sasori. "And it's been a while, Sasori. We should continue the battle from where we left after you escaped." A loud poof appeared right before Orochimaru and everyone eyes narrowed. The smoke quickly cleared and there was Orochimaru, standing on one of his summoned snake, and probably hundreds of underlings standing behind the snake.

Sasori snorted. Sakura glared.

"Who are those people and where on earth did they come from?" Shizune blinked in incredulousness.

"There isn't time for questions." Tsunade hissed.

"Oh my, today is really my lucky day. All the people I want to kill is at the same place. It saves me so much time." Orochimaru gave a heavenly sigh before gesturing his underlings to attack. "Afterwards, I can celebrate the glory of killing all of you with my new partner I'm going to meet later."

They started charging, weird black marks started spreading across their face and it greatly increased the chakra and speed. Realizing there wasn't a choice, Kakuzu and Tsunade glanced at each other and both of them nodded in union, silently agreeing to their temporarily alliance they mentally created.

When Tsunade was about to move and fight Orochimaru's subordinates, a few snake started shooting down from Orochimaru's arm and towards her direction. She jumped, dodging them effectively even though her movement was rather slow due to the fact that she was still tired from Konoha's incident. The medic landed on the ground smoothly and she looked up, eyes narrowed. It seemed that he had decided to choose Tsunade's for his first opponent.

For warm up, Kakuzu just cooling swing his arms and punched each of them with this black iron fist.

Sakura and Shizune both synchronized their steps together, dodging and attacking together perfectly. Sakura sent her chakra fist into the ground and Shizune would use her posion needles and direct them towards the opponents who didn't get caught in Sakura's attack and wanting to escape.

Sasori caught hold of one of the enemy with his chakra string and controlled him. He made his puppet picked up the useful weapons that were all scattered across the ground and used them to attack.

They were doing great, but Orochimaru's subordinates were popping out from nowhere in a rapid increasing number. It was practically an endless fight for them.

Tsunade summoned one of her regular slugs to help to attack the snakes that Orochimaru summoned. They were both on an equal fight, but somehow it seemed that Tsunade was at a disadvantage when Orochimaru's people tend to barge into the fight and attack Tsunade from behind.

There wasn't a problem for the others, but only Sakura. A few black spots were randomly appearing in her vision all of the sudden that she almost got sliced right through in the stomach if she didn't dodged in time.

_'It's time.'_

Sakura gasped. Her chakra fist were still flying around, punching each and every opponent she saw, but she could hear his voice again.

_No, it's not!_

_'This is the amount of time I can spare for you after you've completed your mission.'_

_No, I can't leave now. Can't you see I'm in a middle of a fight?_

He didn't bother to answer Sakura anymore and continued with his plan. At first, sparkles and white glows surrounded Sakura's feet then it slowly travelled upwards. Her feet was gone, as if the white light had swallowed it up. Yet Sakura could not feel a slightest bit of pain, but the pain was coming from her chest. Her heart.

"Sasori!" That was the first word that came to her mind, and her mouth just opened and screamed out the name.

He was controlling one of Orochimaru's people, serving it as his weapons as he didn't have any scrolls with him. Sasori swung his arms to have his human puppet to attack his partners, but immediately turned towards the direction where he heard the sound of his name.

"Sakura!" Tsunade bellowed, releasing one of the enemies that was secretly attacking her from behind and letting him fell onto the ground. Her eyes widening in horror as she watched Sakura's body being enveloped with those mystic glows of light.

"Sakura-san!" Shizune cried out too.

"..." Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. His arms were swinging around and punching the enemies with his iron-hard fist, but his main attention was set upon Sakura and those weird effects that was happening to her.

In an instant when Sasori saw what happened, he released the chakra strings and sprinted towards Sakura. He tripped once, but that didn't make him stop running desperately towards Sakura.

She saw him running, running towards her and putting out his arms, as if it would help him to reach her faster. But she did too, thinking that it would help when she knew it didn't. As Sakura reached out her hand, the glows were starting to appear around her fingertips and engulfing her palm and then her arm.

"Sakura!" He yelled with distress.

Ah. Those eyes. Those were the exact eyes Sakura remembered seeing when she was dying in his arms. It was painful and scared. Despite the fact that the only thing Sakura heard from him was her name, she could actually see the terror in his eyes, telling her not to go... not to leave him alone.

Were those tears? Sakura wondered as she could feel the numbness spreading towards her neck and cheeks. She couldn't see her arms or body anymore, but all she could see was Sasori dashing towards her.

But it was too late. She wanted to shout for his name again, but she couldn't.

"Don't leave!"

Those were the last words she heard him screamed before the image of Sasori completely disappeared away.

It was the end.

_I don't want to leave too._

0o0

"Where am I?" Sakura yelled, spinning rounds and round till she eventually got dizzy.

_'Don't you remember this place?'_

"Let me go back! I have to fight with them!" Sakura scowled, whirling round and round in exasperation.

_'Your time is up Sakura.'_ He calmly spoke._ 'You have done the things you needed to do.'_

"What about Sasori?" Sakura shook her head in despair. "What will happen to him?"

_'His fate... is death.'_

Sakura took a step back, her breathe hitched for a moment. Her head lowered slowly, staring at the piece of white ground and her fist slowly clenched together.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She sneered. Her head shot up as she glared forward. "The months I spend together with him, the months I took to change him... It all ends by having me ditching him? Having his heart torn into pieces and then let him die? This isn't fucking fair!"

_'Have you forgotten, Sakura? The months you spend were for Sasuke and your friends. Not Sasori.'_

"It's not...true..." Sakura's leg gradually gave way and she fell unto the ground, knee first. This time, there wasn't anyone to help her up. No one to ask if she was alright. There's no Sasori anymore. "But you told me to help him, you told me this was-"

_'This is the consequence you will suffer, Sakura.'_ His tone getting a little impatient than before. _'No feelings for one another, didn't I tell you?'_

Sakura covered her face with both of her hand and whimpered softly into her palm, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "This shouldn't be happening..."

He ignored her, continuing where he had left. _'Your head will be a little bit messed up though, since tons of information that happened in the future would be replacing your old memories. You'll wake up, finding yourself in your bedroom and-'_

"No!" There was a short silence afterwards. If Sakura could see the Fairy-God Father, she would have glared him to death. "I'm not going back! I have to save Sasori! I have to kill Orochimaru with Sasori. I have to..." Her voice turning softer and softer till all was left were faint whimpers.

_'Sakura...'_

"Don't you remember what you told me? This mission isn't just for me! It's for Sasori too! We both wanted things to be different! Why must death be the only way out for Sasori? This just isn't fair!" Sakura screamed. She chocked back her tears and ruffled her hair, lowering her body and curling up into a ball. "I only managed to survive all these while, going through so many experiences... It's because Sasori was with me all the time... He deserves better than me. He went through all the pain and changed so much in the end yet..."

He gave a tired sigh and went silent for a moment, only to have Sakura's soft sniffing to break the silence. Finally, he decided to continue. '_It's possible for you to go back.'_

Sakura looked up and stared up in the air. She took in huge breathes and helped herself up slowly, rubbing the tears that were forming in her eyes. The voice continued.

_'But once you choose this decision, there is no way to turn it back. The people you once knew would forget about your existence forever. You were never born into their life. You are who you are now.'_

Sakura gulped, her fist tightened.

_'If Sasori were to die and things didn't go your way like what you wanted when you decided to stay in the past, that's it.'_

She closed her eyes and smile. "That wouldn't happen."

_'What about your friends? Your family? You were doing all these for them, aren't you? I don't understand.'_

Sakura smile didn't falter. "It's true that I did all of these for them..."

_'Then?'_

"Ino could easily find another friend she could have fun and quarrel with. Naruto could easily find any girl who would punch him and knock some sense into him in any situation. Kakashi-sensei could easily have students warning him not to read any more porn books. Sasuke could easily find his true love, and get someone to love him more than I could..." Sakura lowered her head and bitterly held back her tears.

"But Sasori couldn't. He couldn't find someone who could love him like I could. He couldn't find a person who knows the pain he feels. He couldn't find any person who would be willing to tear that mask of stones he built around him. It's true that it isn't easy to love him, but it isn't easy for him to brace up the courage to love again too. He has already lost the people he put his heart, soul and love in. I can't... I can't make him suffer that pain again..."

White glows started forming, starting from her leg again. She looked down and stared blankly at it until she realized what was happening.

_'I'm just bluffing you actually. You can stay in the past if that is your final choice.'_ After he finished his sentence, Sakura could hear a light laugh.

Sakura stared blankly into space before her eyes widened in disbelief. "What..."

_'I'm sort of playing around, since you were stubborn and refused to heed my warning. I'm just making fun of you.'_

Sakura's jaws dropped, the glows already reaching her stomach. "You. I-"

_'My mission as the nice Fairy-God Father has now finished. I don't want to waste anymore time while the rest are fighting. As for now, all I can do is to wish you two all the best for your future.'_

Sakura sniffed and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you very much. Although I wish that I could punch you for once."

In an instant, she was gone.

0o0

"Snap out of it." Kakuzu growled, taking a few steps back and stood beside Sasori and defended him when a large shuriken was directed his way.

"She's gone," Sasori whispered, looking down at his hand that was unable to touch Sakura's hand even at the last moment, "forever."

"Alright, continue standing so you can get killed and join her in the future when you reincarnate." Kakuzu bluntly spoke. "At least fight, you dumb ass. Even if you don't want to live, save the others by helping to fight."

Kakuzu words had no effect on him. His mind was already dead. He looked to his left, and then to his right. He couldn't feel anything anymore. His body felt so numb that he was about to cry.

Cry, yes. When was the last time he cried again? Oh, it was when Sakura was dying in his arm.

"Sakura..." He muttered, lowering his head.

Why must it always be her? On that day when she was drunk and mad, swinging and dancing around in one of the hotel room they rent to stay for the night, he already knew he shouldn't fall in love with her. And look at what happened.

For the longest moment, he just stood there and he didn't know what to do. Maybe he should really die and get reincarnate in the future to meet Sakura again. Then he could also forget all that pain he felt and become a new person who perhaps have a family to love him, and having the opportunity to love too.

_It hurts so much, God' damn it._ He lifted his arm and started pounding his fist on his chest. He really should have killed her in that desert when he first met her. This wouldn't happen. He wouldn't have to be a RobinHood, stealing money and giving it to the poor, being a free baby-sitter and helping some kid to be send back to her family safely and also a mid-wife, helping some people he didn't know to give birth to a baby boy.

What the hell was he doing? He was suppose to be investigating his poisons and researching more about his human puppets and not wasting time doing all of these stupid things.

Yet he enjoyed it so much, he was willing to sacrifice his time to spend it with her. Only her. Now she's gone. It's pointless to be fighting with Tsunade to kill Orochimaru. It's pointless to avoid getting chase down and get force to be an Akatsuki member. Everything was pointless to him already.

He decided he should just die. _Come on, someone just throw a bomb tag at me already._

"Sasori! That's-" Shizune dodged one of the enemy's attack and yelled out to the redhead, pointing at the spot where Sakura was gone before.

Tsunade tried to look back, but most of her attention were forced to be on her ex-teammate. Orochimaru wasn't giving any chance for Tsunade to get distracted at all.

Bright glows started appearing at that exact spot where Sakura last disappeared.

"Sakura?" His eyes widened just as large as a dango. All he knew was to repeat her name over and over again till her body fully appeared right before his eyes. The sparkles and glows stopped and Sakura was standing there just like how she was before.

"Sasori," She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head before walking forward when her feet was back on the ground and hugged him right there and then, "sorry to worry you."

"What, on earth happened?" He harshly whispered into her ears. The fight that was happening behind them was ignored by the two of them and in their world, only the two of them existed.

"I'll tell you once this is over." Sakura took Sasori's cheek and turned them towards her. Before he knew what happened, her lips went forward and she kissed him. He kissed her back in return.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow and took a few awkward steps back and carried on fighting. Without them knowing, he was tackling the people who were trying to near the two of them.

It took quite long for them before they broke the kiss. Sasori stared down deep into her eyes, softening his gaze immediately. She knew that if she had made the wrong choice and went back to the future, the future that she thought would happen probably didn't really happen at all, having Sasori to be broken-hearted and left in this world was completely impossible for her.

He took hold of Sakura's wrist and tightened it, but not tight enough to hurt her. "Promise me, don't leave me ever again."

"I won't. Everything is fine now." Sakura nodded her head in assurance and pecked her lips on his cheeks in replacement for the pinky promise. "I swear."

"We have come!"

The silent and peaceful moment Sasori and Sakura both shared together shattered in an instant when an old lady fly right above the two and landing just a few meters away from them. A couple of ninja from the wind village settled themselves beside the elder.

"Chiyo-baa-sama!" Sakura broke into a smile.

Tsunade smirked, liking it when Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He began making a few hand signs to summon more of his people from his secret hideout to fight. But it was not enough. Back behind Chiyo was not just a dozen of her people, but a number reaching a hundred.

With Chiyo's help and her people that followed her, the burden in attacking Orochimaru's people were very much lessened. Kakuzu decided to interrupt the fight between Tsunade and Orochimaru since he suddenly had the urge to kill.

He took off his cloak, revealing the four masks that was stitched up on his back. Ignoring the continuos fight between Tsunade and Orochimaru and also the other people, he pushed with all his might and the black animal look-alike figures flew out of his body and all of them stood readily beside him.

He took the chance when Orochimaru was distracted and made different hand signs for his different element animals to attack without hitting Tsunade during the process.

Kakuzu missed several times, but he didn't mind. When Orochimaru gave that irritated look towards him and Tsunade, he was pretty pleased already.

Tsunade raised her legs and swiftly appeared right above Orochimaru, and immediately he slammed her heels right onto the snake-summoner's head and he went crushing down. Taking the chance, Kakuzu mentally ordered his fire element animal to jump towards Orochimaru. He made the necessary hand signs and the animal fired a giant flaming fireball down and it directly hit Orochimaru.

He scoffed, and slowly regained back his calm composure thinking it was over, but Tsunade knew better. She went back to her usual stance and prepared herself for another attack. Sure enough, instead of the long-haired man appearing to attack, it was a man-like snake, revealing his true body made out of a multitude of smaller snakes.

Kakuzu cringed in disgust and dodged when Orochimaru slithered towards him to attack. Tsunade jumped, and attempted to body-slam the snake but it easily slipped away.

"Boobs, move out of the way."

Tsunade widened her eyes and turned towards Kakuzu who started making, yet another, complicating hand seals. _Did he just call me 'Boobs'? Seriously? _But nonetheless, she quickly dashed across the field and stood behind him and his weird look puppets.

A fire ball started forming at the beak of the black masked animal. But it was much larger and stronger than the previous one. A wind element masked animal swiftly collided into the fire-element and both formed into one large black monster, but with two masks. The wind element mask opened its mouth, collecting the air particles from the surrounding and swirling it into a massive ball. On the cue, they two mask blasted their attacks at once and it turned into a massive fire attack that covered the almost half of the field. Orochimaru was unable to escape at all as the snake burnt in the flames.

"Hot? Time to cool you down." Kakuzu made another complicated hand signs and one of the masked monster fly up and opened its mouth. A water ball started forming near its beak and in a flash, the water ball shot right down onto Orochimaru and it created a huge blast of smoke once it landed right on the snake form.

_Not enough, _Kakuzu thought and he directed his lightning element animal and strike down Orochimaru with a bolt that could kill a thousand men. There was no way the snake could survive it.

Tsunade took the chance again and once the smoke cleared away, she smashed him down, his snake form went crashing deep into the earth and the ground cracked at least a hundred meters away, inflicting some of Orochimaru loyal remaining underlings that were trying to save him.

A loud growl escaped from Orochimaru's lips and then a soft grunt, then whimpers. Then silence.

The rest of the people had already stopped fighting as the last subordinate fainted or died when they were trying to save Orochimaru but Tsunade knocked them out. No one dared to make a single move and not even a single bird or insect made any noise. The clearing was filled with nothing but the soft pants coming from Kakuzu, Tsunade and a few other Shinobi from Sunagakure.

Sakura, Sasori and Shizune were perfectly fine and clean from any cuts or bruises.

"Grilled snake, anyone?" Shizune whispered out of the blue. Gradually, the rest soon relaxed and started to move around. Especially Chiyo's people, most of them were hurt and injured, but no deaths.

"It's proper to at least bury him." Tsunade watched Orochimaru's true form in disdain. The blonde was ready to receive a surprise attack, witnessing Orochimaru popping from somewhere and then he would slither towards them and give a merciless attack. But he was already dead and not moving. Forever.

Shizune raised her eyebrow. She knew how much her master had hated her teammate so much, but she was actually suggesting to give him a burial?

"Bury him at least a hundred miles beneath the ground, so he could never, ever climb back up to earth." The blonde spat. The youngest girl in the team smirked and shook her head.

"I have a better idea." Kakuzu spoke up. All of them turned to stare at the masked man, who was browsing through some papers in his hand. His puppet monsters had returned back into his body, all stitched up and resting and he was already wearing back his cloak. He trudged towards Orochimaru's battered snake body and pick it up easily and slung it over his shoulder. "Luckily his true form was revealed in the bounty paper, or he'll be worthless."

Sasori and Sakura scoffed in union.

Tsunade just watched Kakuzu walking into the woods. She didn't really care much about Orochimaru's body anymore since it would be the best if she'll never ever see that disgusting snake again.

"You guys alright?" Tsunade turned away called out to a few sand ninja who were groaning in pain and healing one another. Wanting to save their embarrassment, they all gave an OK sign the female Sanin to impress her too. "Chiyo?" She called out again.

"I'm fine, I should be the one asking you." Chiyo emerged from behind a rock while she was unrolling a scroll she was holding.

"Chiyo..." Sakura's face brightened up.

Sasori turned towards the old lady who was already watching him. She gave a small smile, her aging spots and wrinkles already appearing, but despite that, she was still fit to battle most of Orochimaru's underling without even getting a single scratch on her. She still lived up the name of the master in puppetry skills after all.

"We wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Chiyo's help either." Tsunade solemnly spoke when she walked forward and stood beside Shizune and Sakura. Her apprentices looked up at her as the blonde continued.

"I made a secret alliance with Chiyo to bring an army to assist us in fighting when I was gone for a few days. It was actually lucky that I did made an alliance. If I didn't, I wouldn't have received the message that Kushina was giving birth from one of the Lords I met while traveling and went over to Konoha to help." Tsunade nodded to herself. _The seals are always the weakest when the host is giving birth and furthermore, there was actually people attempting to get Kushina's life because of the Kyuubi. She could have died if we didn't go there._

"Why didn't you want to ask for Konoha's help when we returned there while giving birth to the Fourth Hokage's son?" Shizune asked, even puzzled then ever.

"Even though Orochimaru was an exiled ninja, Konoha would definitely refrained from killing him. Instead, they'll just interrogate him and tries to brainwash him to become a good guy." Tsunade scoffed. "They want powerful men to be on their side, those stupid councils wouldn't want to kill off someone powerful and could help them if he or she is needed in a war or fight, even if he once killed thousands of people or not. That's how desperate the villages are, for power."

"But Chiyo was your rival!" Shizune exclaimed, "how did she even agree to it?"

"It's the grandmother's love. You can say I was sort of using Sasori as a 'hostage'. I wasn't really using him because he hated Orochimaru." Tsunade managed a weak smile. "After all, Sasori is her only grandson she have after her son and daughter-in-law died in the war."

Sakura who had been silently listening to their exchange slowly turned and looked at Chiyo and Sasori's direction. She watched quietly at the two of them from a distance, wondering what could they be talking about. It made her heart cringed a little when she suddenly remembered those cold words Sasori said to his grandmother in the battle between the three of them.

But now, it's different. She was sure of it, and that Sakura sort of happy to know.

"Sakura, what was that glowing-then-disappear-and-reappearing technique you used?" Shizune inclined her head to one side as she scrutinized Sakura for a while.

"That-" Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly when she retuned her attention to her family-like members. "It's a long story. It's sort of a... a surprise technique!"

"If that is true, then you should have done that earlier." Shizune crossed her arms and had her face nearing Sakura's. "You missed the chance to see how sad and agonized Sasori was when you disappeared."

"He really likes you. No, he _truly_ loves you. I can bet my life on that." Tsunade gave a teasing look over at Sakura.

Shizune nodded her head quickly, agreeing to what her master had said. "For once, I'm very confident that Tsunade-sama wouldn't lose the bet this time."

0o0

Chiyo softly smiled once she approached towards Sasori, looking up at him who was looking on the ground.

"Ah, my adorable grandson." She spoke first. "Even after so many months, you still look as cute as usual."

"You do know that I'm not going back." Sasori muttered.

"Can't you let me enjoy watching my grandson's face?" Chiyo sighed before she scratched her chin. "You looked a lot more like your father now."

"Even if you were to send an army, I'll get rid of them." He continued.

"I know that already. You're turning naggy too." Chiyo gave a light laugh. "Who says we're going to bring you back?"

Sasori blinked as he stared incredulously at Chiyo.

"You like that girl, don't you?" Chiyo secretly pointed at Sakura who was listening to Tsunade's talking. Sasori turned to where her finger was pointing and his lazy brown eyes were fixated on the pinkette. He remained silent.

"I have no idea what really happened between the two of you, but something just tells me you really like her. And I can see she's a really nice girl." Chiyo gave a soft pat on his shoulder. He didn't shrug it off.

"Travel around the world with her and settle down to start a family together." Chiyo grinned.

Sasori made a face as if he was disgusted by the idea. Even until now, he's trying to act cold but his attempts were failing. His abilities to hide his emotions were also rusting too. "What? Who says I'm going to-"

Chiyo laughed and cut in, liking how his grandson was acting so defiantly for a moment. "Just visit Suna once in a while. That's all I can wish for."

0o0

12 years later, and so much things had changed.

It was expected. When she had choosen to stay, eventually the future was rewritten. The people who appeared in the Chunin exam she was viewing now were all different. The first match for Neji's opponent wasn't against Naruto, but Lee. It was an incredible fight with many people cheering them on. Surprisingly, Lee won.

Sakura lightly laughed. It wasn't really surprising actually. With Neji's cold attitude and remarks, claiming that Lee would lose nonetheless, Naruto ended up screaming and yelling from the balcony for the competitors to prepare themselves and it motivated Lee a lot.

Sasori also noted that Minato, who was sitting beside the Kazekage at the special seat was shaking his head in mild embarrassment for his loud son.

The following matches were not the same either. There were people Sakura didn't recognize against Sakura's friends. Like Naruto, he seemed to be fighting against some random guy from the rock village. Of course Naruto managed to win. Instead of using his stupid Harem technique to distract his opponents like what he usually did in the past, he performed several special attacks that Sakura never seen before. Like that weird wind element that was blasted out from his mouth when he correctly executed the hand signs.

Sakura beamed. She felt so proud to be able to see the baby she once carried in her arms to have grown so fast and powerful. In just one night, a change of fate, Naruto ended up being a complete different person. He's still a little loud, but powerful and a lot more charming for some odd reason. But that same orange jumpsuit sort of deduct some marks for his looks.

The blonde gave a proud grin at his father and in return, Minato smiled. Sakura caught him looking around and he finally spotted his mother as he gave an exaggerated wave towards Kushina's direction before he proceeded back to his area where he's suppose to assemble.

"Next match! Kasumi versus Sasuke Uchiha!" Loud applause and roars sounded in the arena and the audience got excited again.

"There she is. I thought she forfeited." Sasori smirked as he watched one of the two competitors walking steadily towards the middle of the field.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Don't let her hear that. Remember how mad she was when you scolded her for being useless and annoying? We have to move house in the end." She poked her finger right into his chest. "Because it was destroyed when you two ended up fighting against each other."

"I was just dodging." Sasori raised his two hands in defense before putting them down and giving that teasing look over at Sakura. "She got that temper from you."

"You." Sakura growled.

"No, you."

"Y-"

Sakura was unable to say any word when his lips went down crushing on hers without mercy. She still hated the fact that he always gave her surprise kisses, and the only surprise kiss she gave to him was when she came back to Sasori after the _confrontation_ she had with the Fairy-God-Father. It was so unfair.

Tsunade, Shizune and the two of them departed from the last battle they encountered with Orochimaru together but decided to continue their own paths. Tsunade and Shizune didn't know or care about what they were going to do in the future, but after some time, they decided to go on a mini tour around the world to help out villages that need their medical skills.

Kakuzu? He just brought Orochimaru's body with him and disappeared before someone could even blink. Probably he had became rich and retired from being an Akatsuki member. (if that's even possible) It would be funny if one day Sasori and herself were to meet him on the street again.

They travelled for quite a while and decided that they should settle down in the first village they went together, the Land of Silk. After a while, they found a house and bought it to stay. Sakura got pregnant, of course, after they got married without really being official or open about it. It wasn't really surprising that Sakura ended up carrying Sasori's child so fast, since they could barely remember how many times their neighbors had to tell them to quieten down during the night.

At first, they were worried what gender would their baby be, and it was soon revealed to be a girl. At least it's better than a boy with pink hair.

They named the baby girl Kausmi. She had Sakura's green eyes and Sasori's red hair. She grew it long and tied it up into a pony tail despite the fact that she once swore she was going to have her hair short like her mother.

Sakura then gently pushed Sasori aside after their kiss as she pointed at the field down below. "The fight has started, you have to watch or you'll not be able to answer Kasumi's question when she is going to ask you about her match."

Sasori nodded slowly in agreement and turned to watch. What could he do? He doted on his daughter just as much as his wife. But his daughter was more aggressive for him to control.

And so, like _every_ Uchiha _does_, Sasuke unveiled his Sharingan in the middle of the battle. He made a couple of hand signs and the fireball that came out from his mouth was his signature move, the fireball technique.

Sasuke still looked like Sasuke. But she wondered what happened to him eventually. His families? Was he still twisted and lusting for power to get revenge on his brother? Did the Uchiha clan survive? All these question were haunting her several times even when she was living in that peaceful town with her happy family.

Kasumi scoffed, dodging it easily with little effort. She then clutched her fist and with the remarkable strength she learnt from her mother, she strike her fist down onto the floor which sent the shocked Sasuke flying up, but only suffering from some minor scratches.

In a moment after a few hand to hand combat attacks, Kasumi decided to showcase her very first puppet she created along with her great-grandmother Chiyo. They visited Sunagakure during New Year and Chiyo taught her great-granddaughter skills on puppetry and a few games to prank her parents. Especially choking on a dango, it sure scared Sakura like hell when Kasumi feigned dead during tea break few months ago.

Flinging her scroll into the air, the small poof appeared and it engulfed her with white smokes. This was always the move that reminded Sakura how much her daughter looked just like her husband.

When the smoke cleared, her chakra strings were seen to be attached to a human look-alike puppet dressed in a dark purple cloak. She swung her arms and the puppets moved to her will. Sasuke dodged quickly, his brows frowning every moment when Kasumi twitched her fingers and the puppets moved according to how she wanted.

"She's getting complacent." Sasori muttered.

"I agree." Sakura chortled.

"Is that your daughter?" A voice suddenly spoke beside Sakura. All these while she had been focusing on the people, her memories and the match her daughter was fighting in that she had forgotten that there were also other viewers sitting around her, who she could make friends with.

"Oh yes she is." Sakura turned to her side and smiled while Sasori leaned forward to see who was the one speaking.

The man nodded his head. "I'm Fugaku Uchiha. The boy who your daughter is fighting now is my son, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sakura blinked, so did Sasori. She turned and stared at the redhead and blinked even more times before turing back to Fugaku.

_Uchiha? Wait... that means..._

"This is my wife. Mikoto Uchiha. This is my elder son, Itachi Uchiha." Both of them respectively nodded their head when their name were mentioned.

"Itachi-" Sakura gasped and kept her mouth shut immediately. Itachi raised his eyebrow, but he gave a smile in return again. Sakura recalled her first encounter with Sasuke's brother when they were on their way to save Gaara. It was one of the scariest moment of her life. But now, he's just sitting there with his casual clothing that had the proud Uchiha symbol on his back and smiling like there was no tomorrow.

Sakura had never met or heard much of Sasuke's parents, but she felt that Sasuke had gotten his looks mostly from his mother. She then softened her eyes.

She never knew things would end up this way, falling in love with her successful mission and actually becoming a mother of a child when she was supposing to be just 12 in the real year she was alive.

_So...this is how it ends._

"I was just discussing this with my wife," Fugaku started speaking while his wife nodded and expressed a polite smile, "we are wondering if you're interested to have your daughter, marrying our younger son."

Sasori and Sakura widened their eyes at the same time as they turned towards to stare at Fugaku with raised eyebrows.

"...Eh?"

_Or perhaps, this is all just the beginning._

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Longest chapter in history. I'm proud<p>

By the way, I've uploaded a new story called; _Thanks for the Memories_. Yeap, SasoSaku again! AU this time though. I hope you can spend some time to look at it!

ALRIGHT. YOU HAVE REACH THE END! Thank you so much for all those favorites, reviews and supports from each and everyone of you! I'm so glad and honored that you guys like my stories and I hope I can write more stories to share the SasoSaku love with everyone! :)


End file.
